Opinions & Interviews

Cardinal Gugerotti speaks about his prayers in Belarusian language

MINSK, 27 October (BelTA) – I pray in the Belarusian language, among others, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in the Vatican, told the media after his meeting with the Belarusian president in Minsk on 27 October, BelTA has learned.

“I prayed in Belarusian yesterday. The Mass was in Belarusian. When I meet with Belarusians, I always pray in Belarusian. It helps. Unfortunately, my meetings with Belarusians are not so frequent. But I do not forget. Because my experience here was very, very good. I have many Belarusian friends. I hope there will be even more,” Claudio Gugerotti said.

“No one should think that we are here for the sake of  gaining any privileges. That is not our job,” the Vatican’s representative added.

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti is visiting Belarus as special envoy of Pope Leo XIV for the 100th anniversary of the Pinsk Diocese. It was founded on 25 October 1925, and is now one of the four Catholic dioceses in Belarus, encompassing the territories of Brest Oblast and Gomel Oblast.  Claudio Gugerotti served as the Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus from 2011 to 2015.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks