A post in By Vatican News Very busy days lie ahead, with meetings with Russian authorities, representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Catholic community. This is the program of the visit to the Russian Federation of Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organizations, announced in a post in X of Terza Loggia, the account of the Secretariat of State. The archbishop arrives in Moscow today and will return to Rome on August 28. Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 25, the Archbishop will meet with Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, followed by a meeting with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, President of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The following day, Wednesday, August 26, Archbishop Gallagher will meet with Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy. The calendar confirms the determination of the Holy See to continue along the path of dialogue, even in one of the most difficult moments in international relations worldwide. Archbishop Gallagher’s visit will also provide the opportunity to meet with the Catholic community, who will be seen on Thursday 27 August. The day will begin with a meeting with the clergy, men and women religious, followed by the celebration of a Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow. Subsequently, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations will meet with the Bishops. The Catholic Church in Russia is a numerically small community and is geographically dispersed over a vast territory. Its territorial organization includes the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow and the dioceses of Saint Clement in Saratov, the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk and Saint Joseph in Irkutsk. This is not the first time Archbishop Gallagher has traveled to the Russian capital. His most recent visit took place in November 2021. On that occasion, the Archbishop met with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and the then head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion.
