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{{Catholic Church by country}}
[[File:Cathedral karaganda.jpg|thumb|Karaganda cathedral]]
The '''Catholic Church in Kazakhstan''' is part of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]], under the spiritual leadership of the [[pope]] in [[Rome]].

==Demographics==
There are approximately 250,000 Catholics in [[Kazakhstan]] out of a population of 15 million.<ref name="numbers">{{cite web|publisher=[[Zenit News Agency]]| title=Church in Kazakhstan Affirms Asiatic Identity|date=2008-04-17| url=http://www.zenit.org/article-22323?l=english|accessdate=2008-11-18}}</ref> Most Catholics in the country are ethnic Poles, Germans and Lithuanians.<ref name="church">{{cite web|publisher=Union of Catholic Asian News| title=KAZAKHSTAN UCAN Interview - Chairman Of Kazakhstan's Bishops Hopes For Local Vocations|date=2007-12-26| url=http://www.ucanews.com/2007/12/26/chairman-of-kazakhstans-bishops-hopes-for-local-vocations/|accessdate=2008-11-19 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108060126/http://www.ucanews.com/2007/12/26/chairman-of-kazakhstans-bishops-hopes-for-local-vocations/ |archivedate=2009-01-08}}</ref> There are 3,000 [[Greek Catholics]], also referred to as [[Eastern Rite Catholics]], in the country.<ref name="church"/> The population of Catholics decreased after the fall of communism as many German Catholics emigrated to Germany.<ref name="church"/>

==History==
In the second century AD, Christian [[Roman citizenship|Roman]] prisoners of war were taken to what is now Kazakhstan after their defeat by the [[Sassanid]] [[Persia]]ns.<ref name="numbers"/> A bishop's see existed in the fourth century, and there was also a [[Melkite]] monastery in the late fourth and early fifth centuries.<ref name="numbers"/>

===Communist period===
The head of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin caused a great increase in the Catholic population of Kazakhstan by the deportation of Catholics and their clergy to concentration camps in the country. Some of the priests later decided to help build the church in that country.<ref name="numbers"/> In the late 1960s, two Catholic churches were registered, one in [[Alma-Ata]] and one in [[Kustanai]], and later disbanded and were re-registered.<ref>{{cite book| last = Ramet| first = Sabrina P. | authorlink = David Mumford| title = Catholicism and Politics in Communist Societies| publisher = [[Duke University Press]]| series = | year = 1990| doi = | isbn = 0-8223-1047-3}}</ref>

===1991 to the present===
[[File:Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Almaty.JPG|thumb|The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Almaty]]
With the fall of communism in 1991, the Catholic community fully came back out into the open.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Union of Catholic Asian News| title=KAZAKHSTAN Greek Catholic Church Gets First Locally Ordained Priest|date=2007-07-04| url=http://www.ucanews.com/2007/07/04/greek-catholic-church-gets-first-locally-ordained-priest/|accessdate=2008-11-18 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108044703/http://www.ucanews.com/2007/07/04/greek-catholic-church-gets-first-locally-ordained-priest/ |archivedate=2009-01-08}}</ref> In 1991, [[Pope John Paul II]] established an [[Apostolic Administration]] that covered all of [[Central Asia]].<ref name="changes"/> Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Kazakhstan were established in 1994.<ref name="numbers"/> In 1997, the other four countries of the region, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan all became independent missions, so the Apostolic Administration became for all of Kazakhstan and was based in [[Karaganda]].<ref name="changes"/> In 1999, the apostolic administration was split in four; three new apostolic administrations were created, based in Almaty, Astana, and Atyrau, and a diocese was created in [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Karaganda|Karaganda]].<ref name="changes">{{cite web|publisher=Union of Catholic Asian News |title=KAZAKHSTAN POPE ERECTS NEW DIOCESE, THREE APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATIONS |date=1999-08-18 |url=http://www.ucanews.com/1999/08/18/pope-erects-new-diocese-three-apostolic-administrations/ |accessdate=2008-11-18 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015041015/http://www.ucanews.com/1999/08/18/pope-erects-new-diocese-three-apostolic-administrations/ |archivedate=October 15, 2013 }}</ref> [[Pope John Paul II]] became the first Pope to visit Kazakhstan in the country's history in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|author=Zenit Staff| title=Two New Dioceses Erected in Kazakhstan|publisher=[[Zenit News Agency]]|date=2003-05-18| url=http://www.zenit.org/article-7284?l=english|accessdate=2008-11-18}}</ref> In 2003, John Paul II elevated [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Astana|Astana]] to an archdiocese and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Almaty|Almaty]] to a diocese.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Union of Catholic Asian News |title=KAZAKHSTAN Bishop Schneider Installed, First Auxiliary Bishop In Central Asia |date=2006-08-01 |url=http://www.ucanews.com/2006/08/01/bishop-schneider-installed-first-auxiliary-bishop-in-central-asia/ |accessdate=2008-11-19 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015041012/http://www.ucanews.com/2006/08/01/bishop-schneider-installed-first-auxiliary-bishop-in-central-asia/ |archivedate=October 15, 2013 }}</ref> In 2006, Catholic priests were ordained for the first time ever in the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=KAZAKHSTAN First Priestly Ordination Ceremony Held On Kazakh Soil |publisher=Union of Catholic Asian News |date=2006-06-12 |url=http://www.ucanews.com/2006/06/12/first-priestly-ordination-ceremony-held-on-kazakh-soil/ |accessdate=2008-11-18 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015041020/http://www.ucanews.com/2006/06/12/first-priestly-ordination-ceremony-held-on-kazakh-soil/ |archivedate=October 15, 2013 }}</ref>

<gallery caption="Location of dioceses in Kazakhstan">
File:Kazakistan - Arcidiocesi di Astana.png|[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maria Santissima in Astana]]
File:Kazakistan - Diocesi di Karaganda.png|[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Karaganda]]
File:Kazakistan - Diocesi di Almaty.png|[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Most Holy Trinity in Almaty]]
File:Kazakistan - Ammin. Apost. di Atyrau.png|[[Apostolic Administration of Atyrau]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of Saints from Asia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.catholic-kazakhstan.org The Catholic Church in Kazakhstan]
*[http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/data/countryKZ.htm GCatholic.org on the Church in Kazakhstan]

{{Asia in topic|Roman Catholicism in}}
{{Roman Catholicism in Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakhstan}}
[[Category:Catholic Church in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Christianity in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in Asia]]
[[Category:Catholic Church by country]]

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