Azerbaijan Today | The International Magazine

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"Honour To You Who Have Faith"

Pope John Paul II, May 23rd 2002

By Paula Silvester

   The very fact that Pope John Paul decided to visit Baku in the first place seemed quite incredible for many people, especially to a country with few Catholics But after listening to the roar of the crowds, the clapping and the cheering in the Palace of Handball Games, on the morning of May 23rd 2002, one would have been forgiven for thinking that Azerbaijan had just won a major volley ball tourna-ment. But that day, the venue was being used for a far different and quite unique purpose. Floors and walls had been draped with beautiful carpets and flowers adorned the newly erected throne. The hall was filled to capacity and every available space was used for extra seating. The audience consisted of people from the four corners of the earth, all gathered for one reason, to celebrate mass with one of the most famous men in the world, His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
   It is ironic that a new priest was sent to Baku in 1997; he was unable to find any Catholics at all! Authorities in Baku told him that it was aimless quest to try to build a parish; there were no Catholics here needing a priest.
   The Vatican had sent Fr. Jerzy Pilate to Baku upon the request of the Polish community in 1992. Unfortunately these Catholics had moved elsewhere and by the time the priest arrived, few remained. That was in August 1997. Regardless, the priest stayed in Baku for a month and made contact with a group of ex.pat Catholics who had been meeting for prayers privately. At last the priest had a congregation and the Catholic parish in Baku was re-established. Each week brought more ex.pat Catholics to the weekly service as they learned that mass was being celebrated. Local people, some of whom had been members of the last Catholic Church in the 1900-s were now able to practice their religion again. Before long, Fr. Jerzy had a growing ex.pat and local community attending mass regularly.
   It was necessary to have the religion registered with the Ministry of Religious Affairs now that the Catholic Church had been re-established This effort proved to be far more difficult than what forming a parish had been. The first application for registration was made in November 1998. It was not until Good Friday on April 2nd 1999 at 4.00pm that the Catholic Church of Christ the Redeemer was officially registered with the government. It then took a further eight months before Fr. Jerzy was given a work permit to serve the Catholics in the new church. By the time Pope John Paul arrived in Baku there were around 70 local Catholics and 150 ex.pat Catholics. Quite a number of people had been living in Baku for months or even years but had not been able to find a church to attend. They now know they can attend the church in the parish house in Gandjlik each week for mass.
   The idea of mass being celebrated in a parish house is nothing new to Baku. In 1882 a parish house or parish church within the confines of a private house was built. Baku acted as a parish in its own right rather than part of the parish of Tetri-Ckaro in Georgia. This parish had been formed in 1860 due to the arrival of Catholic soldiers sent to the Caucasus by the Tsarist authorities. A chapel was built at the regimental staff headquarters in Georgia. By 1883 there were around 10,500 parishioners being served by ten parishes in the countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia.
   In 1895, a new private parish house was built in Baku incorporating a chapel dedicated to The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary; this became the name of the parish. The first stone chapel was built in 1903 at a cemetery in Baku. A church was eventually designed in 1909 and built with the help of the Oil Millionaires from the Polish Rylskis family. The church was completed in 1912 and became one of the outstanding architectural treasures of Baku, constructed in a Gothic style. The church stood at the crossroads of Azerbaijan Avenue and Rashid Behbudov. It had the seating capacity of 1,500 people, which was about the size of the Polish community at that time.
   Unfortunately, the church did not last very long and was destroyed by Stalin in 1930. The Bibi-Heybat Mosque and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral shared the same fate. Fr. Stefan Demurov, the parish priest at that time, was arrested in November 1937, sent to Siberia; he was shot on February 23rd 1938. He left a parish of around 2550 parishioners. Some Catholics remained faithful by attending services at the Russian Orthodox church who openly accepted them into their congregation.
   This was specifically noted by the Pope in his speech as he said, "Honour to you, Holy Orthodox Church that have opened your doors to the Catholic faithful, that were left without a flock and without shepherds. The Lord repays your generosity."
   Some of the present congregation who have lived through the Soviet period and who are now members of the present parish admitted that they continued to always wear a cross and prayed together with their families in secret. They are now finally able to practice their faith without fear of persecution.
   The future of the Catholic Church in Baku is now very positive. President Heydar Aliev, during the visit of the Pope, publicly announced that he would donate a piece of land to the Vatican so that a new Catholic Church could be rebuilt in Baku. The Pope blessed the foundation stone for the new church during the mass; the parish is now ready to begin the task of fundraising to pay for the construction.
   Already the members of the parish are beginning to grow again, slowly but surely. Only a few local people have become Catholics since the parish of the Church of Christ the Redeemer has been officially recongnized. However, a few people are turning towards the church in an attempt to find answers to their questions about life. Some are coming along out of curiosity, to find out what it is all about. For the ex.pat Catholics there is now a real sense of being part of the community in Baku. This comes from working together for the success of the official visit of the Pope. They meet each week as part of a family, always knowing they have shared a most unique experience together.
   The visit of the Pope to any country is a major event. The Catholics of any country in the world always are opened arms to a visit of the Pope. Often there are thousands, or even millions of faithful, who journey for days to be present at a mass celebrated by His Holiness. They are prepared to stand at distances of one or two kilometres away from the altar, just to be able to say they have seen the Pope; to proclaim that they have taken part in mass with him. For the small community of Catholics in Baku, to take on the major task of organizing such an event meant that every person was called upon to do their part. With only two priests and a committee of about twenty there was a lot to do. Each person who wanted to help was given a task to complete, ranging from organizing flowers to preparing a lunch, the list seemed to be endless. Even for those who had had the opportunity to take part in a mass with the Pope previously this was a most exciting and challenging experience. To be so close to the Pope for such a long period of time and to know that our small community was considered so important made the whole event something to be remembered.
   The Catholic Church in Azerbaijan is now firmly fixed on the map of the world. It consists of people from many nations that are united in a single spirit. In the words of His Holiness, "Your community, dear brothers and sisters, symbolically demonstrates this universality, constituted of people from various backgrounds, some with a past and future in this country, others coming and going from other lands. Together they form a single being, "One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church."