Pope Blesses Initiative Of Belarusian Greek Catholics

• 10.05.2019, 13:26

The pontiff met with the apostolic visitor of Belarus.

The Apostolic Visitor for the Greek Catholics of Belarus, Archimandrite Siarhei Hayek, met with Pope Francis in the Vatican, Vatican News reports.

Archimandrite Siarhei Hayek called the conversation with Francis “brief but informative”. The meeting took place on May 8 after a general audience.

Archimandrite Hayek said that he approached the Pope with an icon of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the original of which remains in the Brest Greek Catholic Church.

“We want the icon to visit parishes and families of our country. Therefore, I asked the pontiff to bless the icon itself and the entire pastoral initiative,” the archimandrite told Vatican News in an interview with the Belarusian editorial board.

“The Pope said he was happy to bless us. It was a short but informative conversation. Then Francis said: “Pray for me, that I also continue my mission with the zeal of Saints Cyril and Methodius,” the leader of the Belarusian Greek Catholics summed up the meeting with the Pope.

He noted that this is important for the Catholic community of the country, since this year the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of Rome’s approval of the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius continues.