Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Baku (Fides Service) - In the afternoon on Sunday 11 September in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, presided a ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone for a new Catholic church. The stone had been blessed by Pope John Paul II. The Cardinal said the important event was a reminder of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Azerbaijan (22 May 2002) and his meeting with the late President Heydar Aliev who offered him as a gift the piece of land on which the new church was to stand. “On this occasion the Catholic community is deeply grateful to everyone, beginning with the late President Heydar Aliev, today’s President Ilham Aliev, civil and government authorities, the mayor of Baku and his co-workers who contributed in various ways to help Catholics achieve their dream of having a church”. Cardinal Sepe thanked also other religious leaders in Azerbaijan, “for supporting and sustaining the project. This demonstrates the great respect which this country has and promotes for all religions”.
The Christian presence in Azerbaijan can be traced to the first century but today the official religion in Islam and Christians are a minority. The Catholic community is very small. “Sad events of the last century and in particolar the rise of Communism prevented public profession of the Catholic religion, indeed of any religion - Cardinal Sepe said -. Persecution of all faiths brought destruction, death and martyrdom, destruction of places of worship of various religions. It was at that time that the Communist regime had the local Catholic church pulled down leaving Catholics with nowhere to celebrate their faith for sixty years”. He said he hoped “the material building of the church would coincide with spiritual and human growth of the Catholic community in Azerbaijan. To live as people of faith means first of all to form a living house of God of which the living stones are the hearts and the lives of the faithful”.
Later that afternoon the Cardinal blessed a building site where work is underway for a Home for the Poor. “For Christians it is very important to help the poor - the Cardinal said -, because charity is an expression of authentic faith and love. Jesus Christ told his disciples that the greatest of all God’s commandments is to love God and neighbour. Our neighbour whom we must love is first of all the person in need, suffering, sick, homeless, abandoned and irrespective of race, ethnic origin or religion.”
Faithful to the teaching of her Founder Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church engages in various forms of service “to alleviate human suffering and restore human dignity”. The Home for the Poor is a social work with which the local Catholic community wishes to meet the needs people in need irrespective of their faith, culture or language. “The Home will be entrusted to the Missionaries of Charity, the daughters of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, known the world over for her witness of love and service for the poorest of the poor”. The Cardinal then thanked all who helped the realisation of this project and assured everyone of the blessing of Pope Benedict XVI. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 12/9/2005, righe 41, parole 605)
