ASIA/KIRGHIZSTAN - The Gospel in music, with the youth of Central Asia

Bishkek (Agenzia Fides) - The young Catholic faithful of Kyrgyzstan are fully committed to the work of spreading the Gospel through music. In a note sent to Agenzia Fides, the parish community of St. Michael the Archangel in Bishkek says: "During the autumn camp, some young people came up with the idea of creating a musical group and organizing events as an opportunity to meet with those who do not yet know the Catholic Church. At the beginning, they had no idea how to carry out this project: they had to set up a group from scratch and, at the same time, look for young people who could sing or play musical instruments. The young people approached a parishioner who already had experience in training and organizing events, and together they had the idea of debuting with a musical accompaniment of the living nativity scene at Christmas Eve mass. Preparations lasted about three months. The initiative also marked the collaboration between different Central Asian countries. "A parishioner of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) made an invaluable contribution by training the group's keyboard player and giving three months of online piano lessons".
The musical group performed throughout the Christmas period in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Bishkek, and was then invited to the parish of St. Clare, in the city of Ivanovka, and to the “Nicholas Roerich” Museum in Bishkek.
"Each of us worked with a lot of effort and a lot of patience, trying to give 100% to achieve a common goal. During the preparation period, we drew closer to the Lord and to one another. We have learned to appreciate the efforts of others, to listen to those with more experience and to rejoice in the fruits of our labor. These fruits are the joyful smiles of children and adults in the magical atmosphere that arose from a beautiful combination of instruments and voices", commented the young people about their experience, who are already planning to organize "mini-concerts for the great celebration of Easter".
The parish of St. Michael the Archangel of Bishkek is one of three present in Kyrgyzstan. The other two are in Jalal-Abad and Talas, while many small communities are distributed in the rural areas of the country. Local Catholics can count on the spiritual assistance of seven priests, one religious and five Franciscan nuns. In 1997, Pope John Paul II established the Mission sui iuris, as was done in the neighboring states of Central Asia. In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI elevated the circumscription to the rank of Apostolic Administration. (LF) (Agenzia Fides, 4/2/2022)

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