Bulgaria’s Forgotten Catholics Await Papal Recognition

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in the small town that will host a liturgy by the Pontiff. Photo: Martin Dimitrov/BIRN.

Anticipating a very important guest:

At least 1,000 people flocked to the church for the Easter liturgy - but that is nothing compared to what will happen in a fortnight, when the church will host none other than Pope Francis himself.

He will come to Rakovski on May 6 as part of his apostolic visit to Bulgaria, lead a service and give First Communion to Catholic children from across the country.

Over 50,000 people are expected to come to Rakovski to see the Pontiff, and there is hot competition about who will get a seat for the liturgy.

The visit is a milestone event for Bulgarian Catholics, who number between 50,000, according to official statistics and 80,000, according to informal estimates.

Unlike the country's large Turkish Muslim minority, the Catholics of Bulgaria are little known.

But their close-knit communities, scattered across the north and the centre of the country, have been an integral part of the fabric of Bulgaria for centuries.

Fr Mladen Plachkov says he is hopeful about the community, adding that the papal visit reaffirms that Bulgarian Catholics are not forgotten. Photo: Martin Dimitrov/BIRN.

Many young people are involved with church and community life in town. Photo: Martin Dimitrov/BIRN.

Major influence on Bulgarian history:

"Despite being a small minority, they [the Catholics] have had a disproportionate importance on the development of the country," says Professor Svetlozar Eldarov, from the Institute of Balkan Studies of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and a Bulgarian church history specialist.