Very Young Catholics in Kazakhstan

The blog has focused on hurricane relief in western North Carolina, but today we are shifting to a different country!

Emily Koczela is back from her recent trip to Kazakhstan where she was researching another Very Young Catholic volume! Previously, she shared a few updates on our Very Young Catholic monthly newsletter (sign up for that below) but today we wanted to share a longer update on the blog!

Now, an update from Emily:

 The visit to Kazakhstan was wonderful and blessed.  I began in Astana, which is the capital city. 

On the outside wall of the cathedral there, we saw a copy of the lovely Madonna of the Steppes, a contemporary painting by a Kazakh artist that was created for the shrine of Our Lady at Ozernoye, Kazakhstan.  You can hear more about this lovely painting below:

For the first week of our visit, we attended the World Nomad Games. 

Since the nomads of Central Asia do not see their athletic traditions in the Olympics, they created an international sporting event that focuses on the competitions they enjoy.  This photo is a brilliant rider in the game of tenge ilu, in which the athletes ride at top speed while hanging off the sides of their saddles and grabbing items off the ground.  We also attended horseback archery, hunting with eagles, and kok boru, which is best described as rugby on horseback. 

After the Games, my translator, my photographer and  I moved on to Karaganda, to visit the family for book #18 in the Very Young Catholic series, which will be set in Kazakhstan.  One of the little boys in the family had his First Communion while we were there, along with three of his friends. 

We ate lots of meals with them, sang lots of songs, and played in lots of parks.  The funniest thing was in one of the parks.  There is an old Soviet tank there, from the days when Russia ruled Kazakhstan.  The children don’t care about that tragic history, they just like playing on the tank!

We visited the museum that commemorates the tragic history of this locality, where a million prisoners were sent to labor camps, including many Christian believers who were repressed for their faith.  Now that the Soviet Union has collapsed, there is religious toleration in Kazakhstan, with a new beautiful cathedral and several smaller parishes.

The city of Karaganda also hosts a Catholic seminary, the only one in central Asia. A senior student gave us a tour, and we were able to interview the rector.  He liked the Very Young Catholic project for its recognition of a worldwide church, and he loved the fact that Kazakhstan was going to be the setting for one of the books.  “We are part of the worldwide church too,” he said. “Don’t forget us!”

While Emily continues to work on this book set in Kazakhstan, another NEW Very Young Catholic volume arrives shortly–click below: