Build a Small Church in Belarus
Thursday, December 17, 2009

Project Code: 439-01-19

About 6 miles from the present border with Russia, in the east of Belarus, lies the town of Liozno, where in 1887 the renowned artist Marc Chagall was born. Most of the Jewish inhabitants of the town were murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War. Since then, and for many years under Soviet rule, the bells of the Christian churches remained silent. The Catholic minority in this overwhelmingly Orthodox country consists mainly of ethnic Polish believers. In Liozno, it was not until a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union that the Catholics once more began to gather to pray.

Initially, a group of Catholic faithful would meet together in the town cemetery. It was here, in 2001, after decades of atheist domination, that Holy Mass was once again celebrated for the first time. Soon afterwards, the Catholic Bishop of Vitebsk established a parish in Liozno that was served by a priest from Vitebsk. He was supported by the sisters of the community of the Merciful Jesus, who began work giving religious instruction to the children. But it was a parish without a church. The faithful had nowhere to gather until a woman from the parish opened the doors of her house and offered them a room for use as a temporary chapel.

In the beginning, some 20 people regularly attended Holy Mass, but their numbers gradually grew, and the private house was of course only a temporary solution. Finally, the parish had the opportunity to purchase a small house that could be converted into a chapel. With great devotion the parishioners converted the main room of this house, so that it now looks very much like a small church – with a small altar covered with a lace cloth and decorated with flowers and candles, and with a large picture of Padre Pio, or St. Pio of Pietrelcina, after who the parish is named. There is a large crucifix, benches – in short, everything that a chapel needs. In the garden they have set up a large wooden cross to show that the house is a church.

Happily, the parish is continuing to grow, and the building is becoming far too cramped. At most 40 worshippers can fit in – and squeezed like sardines at that. It is a very active parish; everyday Holy Mass is celebrated and on Sunday there are two Masses. There are children's and youth groups, meetings for older people and a prayer group, the 'Living Rosary" group. On the First Friday of every month the parish priest visits the sick and elderly who can no longer get to Mass, either at home or in a hospital, and brings them Holy Communion. 

The present parish priest, Father Oleg Piwowar, now wants to build a small church. He wrote to us, "On behalf of the whole parish, I ask your financial support for the construction of a new and larger chapel that will accommodate more people and where catechetical instruction can also be given, for we ourselves are in no position to begin building." We have now promised Father Piwowar and his parishioners a contribution of $9,400. Will you help build this small church in Belarus? We are sure Father Piwowar and his parishioners will remember you in their grateful prayers.

Progress: 24% Raised: $ 2215     Goal: $ 9400

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