Valga's Holy Spirit Catholic Church

As the feast of the Holy Spirit, that is, Pentecost, approaches, we are glad to publish our first web-page, and to greet all our benefactors by means of whose help and prayers we have been able up to now to minister and help this people in Valga, Estonia. Valga is a little town of some twelve thousand people on the border with the neighbouring country of Latvia, and is situated in the heart of what was once Livonia. Here we are, one priest and one seminarian from the archdiocese of Newark, NJ, USA, and it has been two years now that we have been working in this little village, where the people is very, very poor and live with a lot of problems. We are bringing here, as Catholic, the hope in the resurrection of Christ who has overcome all kinds of death. It is necessary to bring them signs of His power and of His love. And one of them, apart from our presence here, will be the reconstruction of the Church, a church which has been neglected, destroyed, persecuted for more than seventy years. The picture on the right shows up to which point the church has been destroyed, turned into a stall for animals, gymnasium, night club, and it was only recently (eight years ago) that the property came back to the Church.

To all who read this site, we are in need of $500,000.00 in order to rebuild this beautiful church. Up to now, we have only $10,000.00, but we are starting anyway the works, as we trust in the help of God. Every offer is welcome, be it dollars, rubles, liras, escudos, pesetas, lempiras, marks or pounds, yen, etc, etc, etc, no matter the quantity, just make a gesture and the Lord will repay you aboundantly. We will be praying for you, and we invite you to come anytime you want. Estonia is beautiful. (The computer with which we are preparing this page is a gift from the Church in Germany. As you see, we are not rich enough to buy one)

So, you see, we are about to begin a new period in the life of our little community, as we start to rebuid the temple which was ruined by the communist regime. We have to tell you, it was only thanks to the Lord and because of the courage of a woman, whose name is Sofia, that the soviets did not destroyed completely this monument, although they did spoil the interior of the Church.This woman, Sofia, is still living and is almost a hundred years old now, and we are always grateful to the Lord and to her that this Church is still standing, as a sign that the forces of the abyss will never be able to destroy the Church founded on the Rock, the apostle Peter, as it was promised by Our Lord.

This is the moment to start to rebuild this monument, so that this people may also have the opportunity to meet the love of God acting in their lives. Up to now, we have been forced to hold our celebrations in a little chapel in the rectory, with capacity for some 30-40 people, and we find that it is too little for the people. Even though, a lot of people is starting to get near the Church: the poor, the old and despised, the dunkards which are looking for some hope to live for and get away from the vice, the young who are on the age in which they need some guidance and are easy prey to alcohol, drugs and violence... Thus, it will be necessary to gather funds so that we may soon see our people in Valga have the opportunity to encounter Christ by means of the Church who loves them, and guides them for the forging of a better life in this world, and the assurance of everlasting life.

For all those who feel the call of the Holy Spirit to help in one way or another the work of the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit in Valga, we are available at kirik.valga@neti.ee, where you can always contact us. Or you can send any help to the following bank account:

Catholic Apostolic Administration, Tallinn - Estonia
Merita Bank
Account #17044716 (Please specify that the offer is for the Church of Valga)
Tallinna Filial, Harju 6

If you want to write to us, the address is:

Fr. Alfonso Di Giovanni,
Maleva 8
Valga 68204
Estonia.

 

Life in the Holy Spirit Catholic Church of Valga:

 

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