Thirty years have passed (1991-2021), since the arrival of Friar Krzysztof KUKUŁKA, the first Conventual Franciscan missionary in Uzbekistan. Friar Krzysztof was a member of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow).
In 1991, Uzbekistan had only one diocesan priest who carried out pastoral ministry in two parishes, in the cities of Fergana and Tashkent, the capital. The Chapter of the Province of Cracow decided to create a mission in Uzbekistan and to rebuild the church in Tashkent, which had been left in ruins by the communist regime. Later a friary was erected in Tashkent and after, in Fergana. Other friars from Poland were sent to the mission, along with Friar Ivan ROHLOF, who arrived from the USA. His dream was to work in the former Soviet Union. Friar Ivan opened a new parish in Samarkand and renovated the old Catholic church there, which was handed back to the Catholic faithful by the President of the Uzbek Republic in 1997.
Also in 1997, the Holy See established a Mission sui iuris in Uzbekistan and Friar KUKUŁKA was appointed the superior of this Jurisdiction. This decision led to the further development of the mission and so new parishes were created, in Urgench and Bukhara, and filial houses were set up along with them.
In 2005, shortly before his death, Pope St. John Paul II elevated the mission sui iuris to the rank of Apostolic Administration and appointed Friar Jerzy MACULEWICZ as Administrator and Bishop of Uzbekistan.
Unfortunately, in 2011, due to some personnel problems, the Conventuals returned the Parish of Urgench to the Apostolic Administration. A priest from Venezuela works there now. In 2019, the Parish of Samarkand was handed over to the Institute of the Incarnate Word, where two priests from Argentina now work. In 2020, the Provincial Chapter of Cracow decided to close the friary in Samarkand and open the Friary of the Blessed Martyrs Zbigniew STRZAŁKOWSKI and Michał TOMASZEK in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Today Uzbekistan has five Catholic parishes and three Conventual Franciscan friaries. The Missionaries of Charity of St.Mother Teresa of Calcutta also work in the mission. They have their Provincial house in Tashkent, which was founded by Mother Teresa herself. In 2020, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul also opened a house in Tashkent.
Currently, there are negotiations to open a new parish in Angren, a city 100 kilometers [62 miles] from Tashkent.
In early April of 2021, state authorities issued a decree to return the church in Fergana, built in 1905, to the Catholic community.
In the next few years, the Sisters of the Institute of the Incarnate Word expect to open a convent in Urgench and the parish will most likely be placed under the care of their institute. There are also plans to establish a parish in the industrial city of Navoi, 115 km [71 mi.] from Bukhara.
Currently, our confreres have three friaries, located in Tashkent, Fergana and Bukhara. The friars also provide pastoral service in Angren and Navoi. There are eight friars serving in the mission—five priests and three religious brothers. Pastoral ministry is carried out in the Russian language. In the capital Tashkent, the center of the Catholic Church in Uzbekistan, ministry is offered in English, Korean and Polish.
Friar Stanisław ROCHOWIAK
