Vatican City, May 26, 2008 / 15:31 pm
The president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper, is in Russia to meet with the Catholic community there and with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II.
The Holy See said the purpose of the trip, “in addition to a personal meeting Cardinal Kasper will have with the Catholic community in Moscow and with top officials of the Russian Orthodox Church, is to make contact with some of the religions and cultural treasures of the Russian tradition.”
The visit to Russia will end on May 30. Among the activities scheduled during his visit is a Corpus Domini Mass at the Mother of God Cathedral in Moscow, a pilgrimage to Kazan and a visit to the Monastery of Diveevo, where he will venerate the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarof, one of the most famous Russian hermit saints.