Aktobe - Good Shepard's Parish

Pastor

Fr. Tadeusz Smereczyński

Born.10 February 1948 in Poland
Priest ordination: 15 December 1984 in Diocese of Lublin

In Aktjubinsk since 1993.

Address:

Immanova St. 59
030005 Aktjubinsk
Tel: + 7 (7132) 963 585

963 715

Tel/fax: + 7 (7132) 963 773
E-mail: tsmereczynski@nursat.kz

Good Shepherd Parish in Aktobe - calendar

Ø      1978 – a tenement bought 60, Oktiabrska St., and adapted for a chapel.

Ø      Dec, 1979 – o. Karl Thomas Gumpenberg (*10.03.1904 – + 05.01.1984) came to Aktobe.

Ø      May, 1981 – the beginning of the construction of the church.

Ø      Oct 9, 1983 - Valerians Zondaks (1908-1986), Riga auxiliary bishop consecrated the church.

Ø      Jan 5, 1984 – Rev. Gumpenberg, the parish priest died.

Ø      Stayed temporarily in Aktobe: Rev. Jan Pawlowski (1984) and Rev. Aleksander Bien (1985)

Ø      July, 1985 – Josef Werth, the present Nowosybirsk bishop, appointed the parish priest.

Ø      Nov, 1988 – Rev. Werth took over ordained ministry in Marks.

Ø      Dec, 1988 – Nov, 1992 - Rev. Jonas Zubrus from Latvia, was the parish priest of the parish. Following the mass departure of the congregation to Germany, he came back to Latvia.

Ø      1992 – 1993 Rev. Clemens Pickel, present Saratov bishop, administered sacraments and celebrated the Eucharist.

Ø      Oct 21, 1993 – Rev. Guido Becker from Meinz became the parish priest of the Aktjubinsk parish and Rev. Tadeusz Smereczyński, a Pole from Lublin diocese, became the vicar.

Ø      Feb 10, 1994 – on the strength of bishop Jan Pawel Lenga’s decree, the name of the parish was confirmed as Roman – Catholic Good Shepherd Parish.

Ø      June 1, 1994 – the state registration of the parish.

Ø      Since 1995 itinerant Neocatechumen Way’s catechists have carried out annual evangelization.

Ø      Since 1995 Neocatechumen Way families from Spain and Italy have stayed in Aktobe.

Ø      Nov 30, 1997 – the parish was re- registered in the department of justice in Aktobe district.

Ø      May, 1998 – Rev. Becker went to Germany. Rev. Tadeusz Smereczynski became the administrator of the parish.

Ø      Aug 6, 1999 – Pope John Paul II established Apostolic Administrature in Atyrau, with Aktobe parish within its borders.

Ø      Oct 20, 1999 – on the strength of Apostolic Administrator Rev. Janusz Kaleta’s decree, Rev. Tadeusz Smereczynski was appointed the parish priest of the parish in Aktobe.

Ø      From 1995 to 2003 – by the means of purchasing the neighbouring parcels the parish’ territory increased from 660 to 5257 m².

Ø      Autumn, 2003 – the beginning of the Caritas activity in the parish, serving a soup – kitchen, a dispensary, baths and a laundry for the poor.

Ø      2006 – 2007 – reconstruction of the Caritas house.

History of the parish in Aktobe

The parish in Aktobe belongs to the oldest in Kazakhstan. The beginning of the presence of the Roman-Catholic Church in Aktobe falls on the end of the Second World War and is related with the forced displacement of the “Volga – Germans”. After their coming to Aktobe the German Catholics started to gather on a prayer on Sundays and on church holidays. The prayers took place in turns in a few houses in different regions of the city. The priest coming to the faithful administered the sacraments mostly at night because of the persecution from the governing bodies. In 1978 the house was bought and adapted as a chapel. The first parish priest was Karl Thomas Gumpenberg (1904 – 1984) the prisoner of the soviet work camps. He came to Aktobe in December 1979 from Latvia. After receiving the permission from Moscow the construction of the church started in May 1981 and was finished in 1983.

The church was consecrated by the bishop Valerians Zondaks (1908-1986) from Ryga on 9th October 1983. In Aktobe ministered: priests: Jan Pawłowski (1984.), Aleksander Bień (1985). Josef Werth SJ, the present bishop in Nowosybirsk (1985-1988), Jonas Zubrus 1989-1992, Klemens Pickel, the present bishop in Saratow (1992-93), Guido Becker (1993-1998). Since 1983 Fr. Tadeusz Smereczyński has been working in Aktobe.

The first state registration of the Parish took place on the 1st June 1994, 30th November 1997. From 1995 to 2003 the parish’s territory was increased by the purchase of the nearby plots (increasing from 660 m2 to 5,257 m2). Near the church there is the rectory and the house for the coming priests, the house for pastoral work, the library, moreover there is a building destined for a charity activity reconstructed in 2006-2007. Since 2003 there is the kitchen for the poor and an ambulatory.

Unfortunately the rectory and other buildings, adapted once from the small private houses, are in bad technical conditions and their maintenance becomes more and more expensive. In this situation we are facing a dilemma whether to repair them, which is very expensive and after repair these buildings will not act their role, or to build a new building of the presbytery and the pastoral centre on the owned plot.

After making cost effectiveness analysis it seems that a better solution is to build a new building adapted to the present pastoral needs. In the attachment we present the project of the new building. It was drew up free of charge by Giorgio Burza, the Italian architect living in Aktobe and helping in missionary work.

The designed building joins the functions of the presbytery and the pastoral centre. There are planed rooms for the religious education, the church administrative office, the apartments for two priests, two rooms for guests and the house chapel. The project was drew up with special attention to the functionality and economy.

The construction of the building will be carried out on the parish’s territory and without bigger difficulties for the parish functioning.