Aid to the Church in Need: Small youth delegation from Turkmenistan to attend WYD in Sydney

Small youth delegation from Turkmenistan to attend WYD in Sydney

Posted by Project Description on 12/5/2008, 10:05 pm
Message modified by board administrator 8/7/2008, 9:33 pm

TURKMENISTAN
“Ata, Ogla we Gudratly Ruha şöhrat!” - Glory be to the Father!

“Ata, Ogla we Gudratly Ruha şöhrat!” You can hear these words proclaimed in the chapel of the Catholic nunciature in Ashgabad, the capital of Turkmenistan. This is where the faithful gather each day for Mass, to pray the Rosary and for Eucharistic adoration. The chapel of the “Transfiguration of the Lord” is also the meeting place on Tuesday and Friday evenings for the catechumens, while on Saturday and Sunday afternoons it is home to the children and young people of the community.

The Catholic faithful here are a unique group. Indeed, there are just 80 Catholics in a population of 5 million souls in this nation of 488,000 km2. Turkmenistan is positioned on the shores of the Caspian Sea and rubs shoulders with Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. There are just two parishes in the entire country, served by two priests and one religious sister. It was 10 years ago when Oblate Fathers Andrzej Madej and Rodoslav Zmitrovich arrived in Ashkhabad. They were the first Catholic priests after 80 years of total spiritual desolation as a result of atheistic Communism.

The Catholic church had a presence in this country from 1881 following the incorporation of Turkmenistan into the Russian empire. Until the late 1920’s she had churches in four cities. Unfortunately at this time the Catholic communities were scattered to the four winds and the church in Ashkhabad was closed at the end of the 1920s and demolished in 1932.

The rebirth of the Catholic Church began on the 29th of September 1997, when the Catholic Church in Turkmenistan was formally established by the Holy See as a missio sui iuris i.e. a mission in its own right. Up until then a priest had visited twice a year from Tashkent in order to celebrate Holy Mass.

Today there is once again a modest but regular and intensive church life. Enthusiasm and devotion abound in this little church community. Hana Simciková, a young Slovak woman, has come regularly to Turkmenistan for the last two years as a lay missionary and gives us her first-hand account:

“The Catholic Church in Turkmenistan still lives underground. […] In two years, since our last mission, many things are still the same in Turkmenistan. There are still just two catholic priests for the whole country. However, there are many changes – much more people are coming every day, coming to hear about Jesus, seeking His love and help, ready to give Him their all. Mostly they are poor people who suffered a lot in their lives. When they come to Jesus they are blessed by His forgiveness, deep healing and new life in Him! […] We led all the meetings for catechumens, youth and kids, which was so helpful for the priests. We also prepared simple evangelization training, where we taught them how to proclaim the Good News. We saw how the first small prayer group was born. […]

The Priests also sent us to other places in Turkmenistan, where we spent some time with people sharing God’s love with them. More and more people were coming every day, hungry for His word which many of them heard for the first time in their lives. Their desire for more priests and missionaries in their towns didn't surprise us. I personally was especially touched by the warm-heartedness, kindness and hospitality of the poorest people in the village called Arzuw. They told us things like: "If I didn't meet you two years ago, today I would be addicted to heroin and I would also sell it as the rest of my family does." "We know, God has sent you to us – just for me!" – told with thankful heart. […]

We had a very nice time with the youth during retreats we prepared for them. Their testimonies among their friends and schoolmates bears fruit, and more and more youth came later to the meetings, to pray together, to hear Gods word, or just to play together.

When I was on the plane going into Turkmenistan, I saw a desert named Kara-Kum from above. It looked like a lot of small rivers, or water sources but they were empty and dry. I was thinking about the land, which is ready, rivers which are waiting for water, water which will bring the life to that land. And a prayer grew up in my heart – giving thanks to God and asking Him for living waters of His presence and love to flood this country.”

(Source: http://www.christlife.org/sharefaith/2008/03/missionary-of-jesus-resurrection-in.html)

Although - or perhaps precisely because - the Church here is so small, Father Madej would like to send a relatively large delegation of 10 young people to World Youth Day in Sydney. In the Jubilee Year 2000, the pilgrimage group from Turkmenistan, participated at the Worldwide Meeting of Youth in Italy and had an opportunity to meet with Pope John Paul II. Delegations were also present at WYD in Toronto 2002 and Cologne 2005. Their experiences were inspiring and brought blessings for everyone.

The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has been helping the Church in Turkmenistan for many years and will assist these ten young people from the former Soviet republic enjoy this faith filled experience.

The charity has helped fund the youth delegation to WYD 2008 with a grant of $6,600.

For further information please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org