“It’s not because we are Christians, but because we are Conventual Franciscans, that we have been able to meet here.” With those words, Friar Rufinus Ero Jenska PERANGIN-ANGIN, the Provincial Secretary of the Province of Mary Immaculate in Indonesia, began his address at a joint meeting between the friars of the Province of Indonesia and the Delegation in Uzbekistan. The Delegation is a presence of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow).
The meeting took place on October 14, 2024, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and summed up the discussions that the friars of Indonesia had about taking on missionary service in Uzbekistan. As soon as a cooperation agreement had been signed by the Minister Provincial of Indonesia, Friar Maximilianus SEMBIRING and the Minister Provincial of Cracow, Friar Mariusz KOZIOŁ, Friars Yohanes PADIYANA and Andreas BUDIANTO, both from Indonesia, flew to Tashkent, to join the local community, study Russian and take on some pastoral commitments. Their presence at this stage is ad experimentum. They feel enthusiastic about the mission. The friars back in the Province of Indonesia think of them as pioneers, and so they are, in the sense that they are undertaking a mission in a country so geographically distant from their own. Those attending the meeting included both Ministers Provincial, the two missionaries from Indonesia, the friars of the Delegation in Uzbekistan, and the General Delegate for Mission Animation, Friar Dariusz MAZUREK. Friar Dariusz talked about how the Province of Cracow and the General Curia were looking for an adequate solution, and how the process of dialogue with the Province of Indonesia developed. He also mentioned that the two missionaries from the Province of Indonesia arrived two months ago and suggested that the friars of the Delegation have an opportunity to learn more about the Province of Indonesia in order to better understand the cultural and religious roots of the country, which is deeply Muslim and thus similar to Uzbekistan.
In the afternoon there was another meeting, this time with the Most Reverend Jerzy MACULEWICZ, Apostolic Administrator of Uzbekistan. He talked about the characteristics of the Church in Uzbekistan. Both meetings were conducted in a fraternal atmosphere and both meetings required translation into different languages since the friars spoke Indonesian, Polish, English, Russian and Italian.
We are also very grateful that Friar Dariusz GACZYŃSKI, the Secretary for Missions of the Province of Cracow was present. Moreover, we are thankful for the warm welcome we received from the local community in Tashkent and all the friars of the Delegation led by the Delegate, Friar Michał GRUSZKA.
Friar Dariusz MAZUREK, General Delegate for Mission Animation
