Capuchin order to return to Georgia

A delegation of capuchins from Northern Italy visited Georgia and decided to open a mission in Tbilisi, Georgia Online reports.

Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, head of the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus, was asked to restore the mission closed in 1845 by the Russian Empire.

Georgia has a population of 4.5 million with only 0.8% of them being Catholics. First missionaries are expected in March 2013.

Ordo Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum split from Ordo Fratrum Minorum in the 16th century.

Adapted from Vestnik Kavkaza