September (Web-only) 2000

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A new Catholic cathedral in eastern Siberia will promote the revival of Christian life in the region, as well as helping change Siberia's image abroad, according to a Catholic official in the region."Siberia is a challenge for us," according to Jozef Weclawski, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Church's east Siberian apostolic administration. "The stereotype of Siberia carries very sad associations of snow and ice, exile, penal servitude, and extermination. This is historically truthful—and even today, there are many large cities here with no priests or nuns."Historians estimate that up to 12 million Soviet and East European citizens, including many Christians—lay and clergy—died in Siberian labor camps under communist rule.The Polish-born priest was speaking to ENI after the dedication of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Irkutsk, a city of 700,000 inhabitants about 2,500 miles east of Moscow. He said the church hoped that the new cathedral would become a center of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics from Siberia and abroad, as well as a base for the church's pastoral and administrative work in the former Soviet territory."Until now, our gatherings have taken place in rest centers or rented rooms, but now we have a permanent place of our own," Weclawski said. "I think a change in Siberia's image will not only come through this cathedral's consecration, which is undoubtedly a historic event, but through the more general presence of the Catholic Church. As the Pope has said, we must learn to think in the long term."The new cathedral will be the seat of eastern Siberia's 47-year-old Polish-born apostolic administrator, Bishop Jerzy Mazur. It was dedicated on September 8 by the secretary-general of the ...