The Catholic Church now owns its first property in St. Petersburg thanks to Spanish priest Aleksander Burgosof the diocese of Valladolid.
In 2021 he obtained the Vatican's approval to build the first shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima in Russia and, at the beginning of the year, he managed to close the purchase of the house in which he was renting. In this way, after the communist revolution of the early 20th century, this house became the first property owned by the Catholic Church in Russia.
With more than 15 years of pastoral work in St. Petersburg, Fr. Aleksander Burgos, known in Russian as Otests Aleksanderhas worked tirelessly to carry out these projects and continues to seek resources for the construction of Russia's first shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.
Trained in Rome to minister to Catholics of the Byzantine rite, Father Aleksander is currently pastor of a Byzantine rite church in St. Petersburg. After registering the parish and presenting the initiative, the Holy See gave the green light for the construction of the shrine.
The Bishop Joseph WerthThe Vatican, apostolic administrator of Novosibirsk and primate of the Russian Byzantine Catholic Church, informed the Vatican about the project, which received its approval in 2021.
The sanctuary will be of Byzantine Catholic rite, but will be open to all Christians, regardless of their rite, and to people of good will interested in participating in Marian pilgrimages.
On July 13, 1917 in Fatima, during the third apparition of the Blessed Virgin to the little shepherds, Our Lady told them about Russia. He said that Russia would spread its mistakes all over the world, but that in the end it would become and his Immaculate Heart would triumph.
He added that he would return to ask for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, which he did a few years later: the June 13, 1929 appeared to Sister Lucia in Tuy, and asked that the Holy Father consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
As is already known St. John Paul II made this consecration on March 25, 1984 Since then, more than 20,000 churches have been built in Russia, and more than about 70 percent of its inhabitants have been baptized.
Although the consequences of atheistic communism are still enormous and the percentage of practicing believers is small, it can no longer be said that it is an atheistic country, but a religious country that favors the practice of religion. In this sense we can say that Russia has becomealthough not to the fullest extent.
In order for the Russians themselves, especially Catholics, to be able to thank the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to help the triumph of that Heart become complete, there is this project of building a Fatima shrine in St. Petersburg.
The project was authorized, after consultation with the Holy See, by Bishop Joseph Werth, Ordinary for Eastern Rite Catholics throughout Russia.
For more information about the Fatima Shrine in St. Petersburg, you can access the official website here: fatimarus.com
Alejandro Burgos-Velasco was born in Valladolid, Spain, but is now better known as Otests AleksanderAlexander in Russian, because he has been living in St. Petersburg for the past twenty-two years.
It is a transfer that he himself requested, when he was told that priests were needed to go to Kazakhstan: "I offered to go to Kazakhstan. But that didn't work out. As I had discussed it at length with my bishop, don José [Delicado Baeza], from Valladolid, I told him: "This didn't come out, so what do I do now?". Then we agreed to go to Russia.
In this simple, but at the same time impressive way, this priest exchanged the sun of Spain for the snow of Russia. Before landing in St. Petersburg, Alexander made a short stop in Rome to receive a blessing from John Paul IIfor this adventure.
You can read the full interview on this page: Aleksander Burgos, a Spanish priest in Russia: "I volunteered for Kazakhstan... but it didn't work out".
