Taskent (Agenzia Fides) - After two years of Holy Masses celebrated in private apartments, a group of 35 Catholics in a remote zone of Uzbekistan is preparing to celebrate the Easter Vigil in a real Church. Father Satnislaw Rochowiak, 35 years, conventual Franciscan, of polish nationality, has informed that soon a building will be set up as a parish with the name "Church of the Virgin Mary of Charity".
T he building will have a Chapel for the Holy Mass, other rooms for the pastoral and catechises of the community, a canonical house for the parish priest and rooms for persons and groups. It will the be the first and only Christian Church at Urgench, main city of the Khorezm region, situated about 1,000 km west of the capital Taskent.
Uzbek law foresees that, for the recognition of a sacred building, there must be at least 100 signatures of people of age, all citizens of Uzbekistan, former Soviet Republic, a Muslim majority, independent since 1991.
A Catholic woman, Lydia, carried out a door to door campaign to collect necessary signatures, reaching more than 150, including those of many Muslims, who agree to concede a place of worship for Christians, who had none. For a year and a half the Catholics celebrated the Sacraments in homes.
Lydia, 50 years, was also the person who from Urgench went to the capital Taskent to ask the Superior of the Missio sui iuris in Uzbekistan, Father Krzystof Kukulca to send a priest to the region of Khorezm.
In Uzbekistan 76.5% of a population of about 25 million is Muslim. Christians are 1.7% of whom 40,000 are Catholics. The Catholic Church was reborn recently with three parishes and three mission stations, provoking certain interest among the local population. PA (Fides Service 28/3/2003 EM lines 27 Words: 311)