11 Dec 2018
We recently received a lovely message from Bishop Clemens Pickel in Saratov, Russia, where the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart provided funding for the repair and transport of a local church organ.
At the end of November, parishioners of the church of Christ the King celebrated the 25th anniversary of the church’s consecration, along with the blessing of the newly repaired organ.
The Christ the King Church, located in the city of Marx, was the first Catholic church to be built in Russia following the fall of the USSR. Construction began in 1990 and took a total of three years to complete, and today, this is a welcoming space for locals to come to pray.
The MSC Russian Mission began in 1995, when three MSC priests from the Irish Province travelled to Russia to aid in the re-building of the Catholic Church following the state’s anti-religious campaign. Our missionaries helped to establish the solid foundations of spiritual community in Russia, and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart now provide support to the current organisations and lay leaders who continue the work begun by our MSCs over 20 years ago.
“We had a beautiful feast in Marx,” wrote Bishop Clemens Pickel, “where we celebrated 25 years since the consecration of the Christ the King Church and the blessing of the organ. Thank you to MSC Ireland!”
Thanks to the help of our mission friends in the Irish Province, the Christ the King community can enjoy music and celebration in their church once more as they embrace the religious freedom that was denied to the country for so long.
