Pope Francis met with 10 bishops of Kazakhstan's Episcopal Conference. There were also bishops from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan present. They are from countries where Catholics are a minority.
It was a brief meeting, but nonetheless very symbolic.
“Welcome!”
As a present, the bishops presented this image of Our Lady to Pope Francis. In 1941, some deported Polish people prayed to the Blessed Mother for help, after being left to their own fate. As a result, they miraculously found a lake containing fish to eat during the middle of winter.
However, this was not the only gift he received.
“And this is the first book of prayers written in Kazakh.”
Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world. However, it only contains 18 million inhabitants. Out of these, 70 percent are Muslims, a quarter Orthodox and one percent Catholic.
