Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 27, 2023 / 15:45 pm
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow is urging the Prince Vladimir Cemetery in Vladimir, Russia, to restore a memorial plaque that honored a Catholic archbishop who was imprisoned by Joseph Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union until his death.
Earlier this month, plaques dedicated to political and religious prisoners who died at Vladimir Central Prison under the communist regime were removed. This included a plaque honoring Archbishop Mecislovas Reinis, whose cause for sainthood is reportedly being investigated. He was imprisoned in the Vladimir Central Prison from 1947 until his death in 1953.
“The memory of Reinis is preserved among Catholics in Russia, in particular, a memorial plaque was installed for him in the Church of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vladimir,” Father Kirill Gorbunov, the vicar general of the archdiocese, said, according to the state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti.
Gorbunov added that Reinis “deserves to have his memory immortalized at the site of his martyrdom” and that “he was a true Christian and shepherd [who] testified his fidelity to Christ by martyrdom in prison, where he was unjustly accused” along with other prisoners of the communist government.