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Atyrau (AsiaNews/UCAN) – Bishop Janusz Kaleta, first bishop of the westernmost apostolic administration in Kazakhstan, was installed on December 17. With his installation as head of the Apostolic Administration of Atyrau, all of the country's four Church jurisdictions now have a bishop. Atyrau is about 2,000 kilometres west of Astana, the capital.

Pope John Paul II divided the one Apostolic Administration of Kazakhstan into four parts on July 7, 1999, creating the diocese of Karaganda and the apostolic administrations of Almaty, Astana and Atyrau. The late pope later raised Astana to the status of archdiocese and Almaty to that of diocese on May 17, 2003.

In Rome, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's former Secretary of State, led the November 23 Episcopal ordination of Bishop Kaleta, who had been apostolic administrator of Atyrau since its creation.

During his installation at Transfiguration of Our Lord Church in Atyrau, the new prelate thanked Catholics among the assembly of about 200 people, saying that “if there were no parishioners, neither parishes nor bishop would be needed here.”

Ukrainian Mgr Vasiliy Hovera, Greek Catholics’ ecclesiastical superior in Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia, opened the ceremony by reading the papal announcement of Bishop Kaleta's appointment.

For his part, Mgr Tomasz Peta, archbishop of Astana, said that “it is necessary to note that so important an event is happening during celebrations for the 15th-year anniversary Kazakhstan's independence”. In fact, the Central Asian nation became independent from the former Soviet Union on December 16, 1991.

“Due to independence and freedom of religion,” he added, “we now have five bishops.” And the diocese of Karaganda has both a bishop and auxiliary bishop.

Bishop Henry Theophilus Howaniec of Almaty and Bishop Jerzy Maculewicz, apostolic administrator of neighbouring Uzbekistan, also concelebrated the ceremony.

“I regard my appointment as approval of what has been done over the past seven years,” Mgr Kaleta said. “I hope to invite more priests and nuns to come here.”

Seven priests and three nuns presently serve 2,600 Catholics in seven parishes in the apostolic administration, which is home to 2.2 million people. In terms of Catholic population, Atyrau is the smallest of Kazakhstan's Church jurisdictions. The country has a total of 250,000 Catholics.

Bishop Kaleta was born in Łazy, Poland, on October 11, 1964, and was ordained a priest on June 4, 1989, in the town of Tarnów, also in Poland. Before becoming apostolic administrator of Atyrau, he worked in various parishes in Poland, and also studied at the Papal Theological Academy in Krakow, Poland, and at the theological faculty in Innsbruck, Austria.

Atyrau, situated by the Caspian Sea on the delta of the Ural River, is about 20 metres below sea level but is Kazakhstan's main harbour. Oil is the area's largest industry, and since many foreigners are engaged in oil production, masses are provided in English, Italian and Russian.