09/05/2026
Fr. Madej on 30 years among Muslims: 'I never felt like an outsider'
After nearly 30 years of ministry in Turkmenistan as a missionary, Fr. Andrzej Madej, OMI, tells Vatican News that his goal was to build relationships with all people based on respect and peace, since "where Christ comes, love comes with Him."
When Oblate Father Andrzej Madej arrived in Turkmenistan, the Catholic Church there had to be built almost from the ground up. There were no established structures and no large Catholic communities. Even so, there was the possibility of meeting people.
The Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate (OMI) recalls inviting people for tea, talking with them, and reading the Gospel together. Step by step, a community began to take shape. The first baptisms were celebrated at Easter in 2000.
βThey saw the Church being born before their eyes,β recalls the Oblate missionary. It was a small Church, growing within an overwhelmingly Muslim society.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2026-09/fr-madej-on-30-years-among-muslims-i-never-felt-like-an-outsid.html