ORDINATIONS IN RUSSIA

On June 28th in Moscows Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi ordained two graduates of the St. Petersburg Higher Catholic Seminary: Kirill Gorbunov to the rank of deacon and Deacon Igor Sergeyev to the priesthood.In an interview, Archbishop Pezzi explained that such events are especially important in countries like Russia. In nations where the prevailing religion is Catholicism, ordinations may happen rather frequently and in larger numbers. But this is not the case in places where Catholics constitute a small minority.We must not forget that the ordination of a priest is a mystery. Particularly, its a sign of the presence of God in Jesus Christ, in His community and in His Church. And all that is related to the sacraments. Therefore, this is, in fact, a great event. In this sense, I think it is right to stress that this is a special event. I repeat, we must show euphoria about the fact that, thanks to God, we ordained at least one priest, and to emphasize the importance of the event as such.Through the Apostolic Nuncio in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, Pope Benedict XVI conveyed his blessing to the newly ordained.