As soon as the communist government took charge in Russia in 1945, all religious observances were prohibited in Kalin grad. Under the leadership of Lenin and Stalin, the churches there began to be used for other purposes. The faithful had built a magnificent church in Kalingrad in 1905 and the Catholics there were using it freely for prayer and worship. From 1945 onwards it was converted into a godown. In 1980 it began serving the purpose of a theatre for musical and dramatic performances. Even today it is used as a theatre. I got a chance to enter the church along with the vicar of Kalingrad. We had to pay an entrance fee. The vicar said in Russian to the watchman: "We have come to a situation when we have to pay a fee to have a look at our church." The man just smiled wryly.

In 1989 when Fr Anuprus reached Kalingrad, all that belonged to the Catholics had already been confiscated by the government. Some Catholics, on hearing of Fr Anuprus' arrival, welcomed him. Father Anuprus, collected some of them and offered Mass on the grounds of the church now converted into a theatre. Later, he was able to build a small church and presbytery with the help of several benefactors. There are four Masses celebrated there on Sundays. At every Mass the church is full of people. The Asst Vicar, Fr Edward, informed us that after 1989, about 250 people received baptism every year. More than 100 of them were adults.

The five -day retreat we gave there was highly useful. On the last day several participants came up to the stage to give witness to the blessings they had received through the retreat and thank God for them. Conrad's testimony was very touching. He narrated how when he was quite a small boy, the army led by Stalin and Lenin, captured his father. And his mother, with the very young children, sought refuge in a relative's house. The mother and children kept waiting in vain for the return of the father. Several years later, while he prayed for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, he received the grace to forgive the Russian soldiers. Most of the people who had made the retreat, had gone through various kinds of tribulations. We could see their eyes overflowing with tears during the prayer for inner healing. A woman who could not move her fingers for over nine months, was healed on the very first day. There were also some instances of people being healed of deafness.

Fr Edward said to me: "I, too, to tell you the truth, should have had difficulty in forgiving the Russian soldiers. We lost our father when we were quite young. My mother brought us up with great difficulty. We had to live in the concentration camp for three years. Once, a soldier pointing the gun at me, threatened to shoot me. My mother, standing a little away, began praying and weeping. I don't know why he did not kill me that day. 40% of the people in our village were killed during that time."

Before leaving Kalingrad for Lithuania, we went to visit the old church. Musical and play rehearsals were going on in the church. We stood there and prayed a little. The vicar said, "Let us hope that before long the government will hand over this church to the Catholics. Anyway, we are grateful to God that there is some change and religious freedom in Russia today."

I asked some people what difference there was between the Russia of today and the Russia before the communist government collapsed. In one word came the reply: "Freedom ! Then we had no freedom for anything. Now we are free."
 
It is from the attempt that lasted for years to destroy God and religion, that Russia attained freedom in the recent past . Renovation cannot be carried out in a day or a year. That will take place only gradually. Religious authorities should co-operate in this task with humility and tolerance --so thought I.