Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Almaty (Agenzia Fides) - "First saints, then missionaries," Saint Giuseppe Allamano, founder of the Congregations of the Consolata Missionaries and Missionary Sisters, used to say. And that is the first gift we should ask for every day, says Sister Irena Candida De Alberto Solomone, originally from Africa, who, for three years, has been proclaiming the Gospel with four other sisters in the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan's most populous city.
Kazakhstan, a crossroads of peoples and cultures in the heart of Asia, is a young country, as young as its Catholic community. A small flock (only 1% of the 19 million inhabitants are Catholic) that coexists peacefully with other faith communities (more than 70% of the population is Muslim, and 26% is Orthodox Christian).
The current parish in Kazakhstan "is a parish composed primarily of the descendants of immigrants from Europe. But gradually, people born here are also asking to become part of the community".
Sister Irena is originally from Mozambique, where her vocation matured, as she tells Fides: "It is difficult to explain exactly how my vocation was born. Since childhood, when I attended catechism classes and, above all, prepared for the sacrament of Confirmation, I understood that Jesus is a person to be loved. With Confirmation, one becomes an active part of the Church, and every baptized person must assume responsibility. That is why, immediately after my Confirmation, I became a catechist in my parish."
At the time, Irena was 16 years old and had realized that "the Church is the place where one can fully live one's faith. Like the other girls, I went to school, played basketball, and practiced dancing. But I felt a growing desire to give my life to God. After high school, at the age of 19, I decided to join the Consolata Missionary Sisters. In 1993, at the age of 24, I became a nun."
During these years, Irena also made the decision to go as a missionary "far from home, outside of Mozambique."
The Congregation of the Consolata Missionary Sisters provides for a period of several years before receiving the mandate: "My first destination was Italy, then I received the mandate and was initially destined for the United States of America. I lived there for 17 years." In 2017, her destination changed: Asia. Sister Irena lived in Afghanistan for several years, then in 2022 she moved to the steppes of Kazakhstan: "I did not expect this. The Congregation's project is to expand the missions, that is, to spread the Gospel where Christ is not yet known, where the Church is not yet developed."
But what does it mean to proclaim the Gospel in a country where the vast majority of the population belongs to another religion? For Sister Irena, it is "a precious opportunity," because the charism of the Consolata Missionary Sisters is precisely to "reach those places and people where the Church's presence is lacking, where there is a need to hear the Good News."
"The best attitude," adds the missionary sister, "is to have an open heart and an open mind. Since arriving here, we have realized that we have to be a bit like children. That means we have to start our lives a little bit anew: from studying the local language to exploring the places and culture of this country. This already leads us to the encounter with the Kazakh people. A people made up of many ethnic groups, but all with open hearts and open minds." All activities "must take place on the church grounds. But they allow us to keep our facilities open. And that is a blessing in itself."
The community of sisters to which Irena belongs is also multi-ethnic, like the context in which the sisters are called to live their missionary vocation: Sister Irena lives with Sister Claudia from Colombia, Sister Dorota from Poland, and Sister Argentina from Mozambique. They are accompanied by two priests, Father Simon from Poland and Father Ladislaus from Korea.
There are a total of seven villages around the city of Almaty where the Consolata Missionary Sisters work. And in Almaty, according to Sister Irena, "the government organizes many interfaith meetings. Father Simon often participates in these events so that we can maintain peaceful relations with everyone."
The Diocese of Almaty covers a total area of 711,600 km² and has 11 parishes. Of the 7,350,240 inhabitants, 42,000 are Catholics (0.6% of the total population). In the village of Janashari, "we have a playground and a facility that can accommodate about 20 people." And even this playground, where people of other religions come together, becomes a place of encounter and dialogue for us."
"And today," adds the missionary sister, "we have some seminarians who will soon be ordained deacons." And the veneration of saints or the Virgin Mary "has also begun to spread. That is beautiful, and we are only at the beginning." (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 10/4/2025)
