On October 22, in the parish of St. John Paul II in Smorgoni (Belarus) a holy Mass was celebrated by Bishop Yuri Kosobucki – a graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin, former stipend recipient of the John Paul II Foundation.
In the St. John Paul II year, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the faithful of the young parish community in Smorgoni prayed during a 40-hour service that began the day before. The director of “Caritas Belarus” Fr. Vitaly Dobrolowicz helped them in their spiritual preparation for the celebration and delivered homily during the Mass. The main Mass celebrated by the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mogilev, Bishop Yuri Kosobucki on the feast of St. John Paul II, Thursday evening, took place on the field altar in front of the chapel.
Due to the difficult epidemiological times, the celebration, which was attended by many local faithful and guests, took place outdoors in accordance with the necessary sanitary standards. More than two thousand people spiritually participated in the celebration through live broadcasts from Smorgoni on the Catholic.by and Radio Maria portals.
During the Mass and Eucharistic procession, at the end of the celebration a strong wind blew, similar to the one that during the John Paul II funeral Mass on St. Peter’s Square turned pages of the open Gospel, lying on the coffin of the Great Pope. This wind is like the breath of the Holy Spirit, as if the Slavic Pope called the Holy Spirit to come to earth and change its face.
As Bishop Yuri Kosobucki emphasized in his homily, this transforming power of the Spirit – the power of love – has fulfilled the life of John Paul II, helping him to overcome all difficulties and in his service to God’s people to achieve holiness and bring many people to salvation.
The memory of this great pastor, who introduced the Church of Christ into the third millennium, is kept and respected by believers all over the world. People also remember Him in Smorgoni and pass this memory on to new generations of believers. On the walls of the catechetical class in the parish, where Sister Magdalena Kulaj OCD teaches children and young people the eternal evangelical truths, there are pictures reflecting the great and eloquent, sublime and sometimes tragic moments of Karol Wojtyła — John Paul II life.
In order to better understand the life and teaching of the Great Pope, the parish organized a competition for the best depiction of his papal coat of arms which could be made from various materials, as well as to present in drawings or compositions one of the Pope’s fascinating and diverse interests: theater, poetry, mountains, kayaks, skis, football, bicycle. Entries for the competition clearly manifested the talent and creative imagination of the faithful people of Smorgoni. With a great enthusiasm in the competition participated children and adults. During the ceremony the results of the competition were announced. The competition was won by the Grużewski family who received the main prize – the winners will participate in a pilgrimage to Rome, as part of an organized group, which will take place once the sanitary restrictions to the pandemic will be lifted.
After the holy Mass, a parish lottery was organized. An electric scooter was the lottery’s main prize. In addition, there were two bikes and many other prizes. The proceeds raised from the lottery will be used in further construction of the church. The church is gradually growing next to the chapel, where the faithful of the first Belarusian parish of St. John Paul II gather for prayers.
The winning numbers from the lottery were announced by the pastor Fr. Evgenij Uczkuronis, who during his two years of service in the parish met almost all the faithful people entrusted to his pastoral care. A conscientious priest, building the church, first of all is building a living temple from human hearts, on the model and with the help of the great and holy pastor of the Catholic Church – John Paul II.
Catholic.by
