Belarus releases two jailed priests
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Belarus released two jailed Catholic priests Thursday, in a diplomatic breakthrough for the Vatican.
The press service of the Belarusian bishops’ conference expressed gratitude Nov. 20 to all parties involved in securing the freedom of Fr. Henryk Okołotowicz and Fr. Andrzej Juchniewicz, O.M.I., who were imprisoned for alleged offenses against the state.
“The Roman Catholic Church in Belarus welcomes the positive trends of the state in the international order, the resumption of dialogue between the Republic of Belarus and the United States, as well as the strengthening of contacts with the Vatican,” the press service said.
The development followed an Oct. 27 meeting between Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, and Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, who has led the Eastern European country with a population of 9 million people since 1994.
The press service said that the visit by Gugerotti, a former apostolic nuncio to Belarus, “gave a positive impetus to further contacts, an important result of which was the decision of the President of the Republic of Belarus, as a sign of mercy and respect for the pope, to pardon and release Catholic priests serving sentences in prison.”
A total of 1,255 political prisoners remain jailed in Belarus, including 29 priests and other religious believers, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center.
Okołotowicz, a 65-year-old Belarusian citizen of Polish descent, was arrested in November 2023 on suspicion of “extremism.” Human rights activists say the concept is loosely defined and applied to any actions, public statements, or social media posts deemed critical of the authorities.
Belarusian security forces cracked down on civil society after Lukashenko, commonly referred to as “Europe’s last dictator,” controversially claimed victory in a 2020 presidential election, triggering mass protests that were repressed with the help of the country’s neighbor and main ally, Russia.
Okołotowicz, who had previously suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with cancer, was sentenced on Dec. 30, 2024, to 11 years in prison for high treason. He was reportedly sent to Penal Colony No. 2 in Babruysk, part of a network of penal camps. The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld his sentence in March 2025.
In October 2025, the katolik.life website, which covers Catholic news in Belarus, reported a message from Okołotowicz. The priest reportedly said he was finding strength in the rosary and the example of Cardinal Kazimierz Świątek, who spent 10 years in Soviet camps and died in 2011.
Juchniewicz, a 43-year-old who was born in neighboring Poland and served as provincial superior of the Oblates in Belarus, was detained on May 8, 2024, alongside fellow Oblate Fr. Pavel Lemekh. The priests were initially held on charges of “subversive activities.”
Investigators then charged Juchniewicz with additional criminal offenses, reportedly relating to “the sexual integrity of minors,” which he denied and his parish community considered baseless. A district court sentenced Juchniewicz in April 2025 to 13 years in prison, which he also began serving at Penal Colony No. 2. Another court later dismissed his appeal against the verdict.
Belarusian state media reported the two priests’ release as a gesture of goodwill from Lukashenko, in the context of the 2025 Jubilee Year. The news agency BelTA said the president had “pardoned two Catholic priests convicted of serious crimes against the state.”
The human rights monitoring group Christian Vision for Belarus said it was notable that Juchniewicz appeared to be officially recognized as a political prisoner, given the prior charge reportedly concerning “the sexual integrity of minors.”
“Therefore, he is not only released, but also his good name and reputation are restored,” the organization commented in a Nov. 20 social media post.
The bishops’ press service published a photograph Nov. 20 of Okołotowicz and Juchniewicz with Archbishop Iosif Staneuski, the president of the Belarusian bishops’ conference, and Archbishop Ignazio Ceffalia, the apostolic nuncio to Belarus. The two priests had closely cropped hair and appeared thin.
The press service said that Staneuski, Ceffalia, and Gugerotti “took a direct and significant part” in securing the priests’ release.
“Thanks to the Head of State [Lukashenko] and representatives of the Apostolic See, the positive dynamics of bilateral relations based on traditional values, brotherhood, religious tolerance, and respect for believers are maintained,” it said.
The Vatican previously engaged in high-level diplomacy with Belarus when the country blocked Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the country’s most prominent Catholic leader, from returning to Belarus after a trip to Poland in August 2020.
Kondrusiewicz, who had offered pastoral support to jailed protesters, was eventually permitted to return. But Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Minsk-Mogilev days later.
Clergy continue to fall foul of the Belarusian authorities, despite the strengthening of diplomatic contacts with the Vatican.
In September 2025, Polish national Br. Grzegorz Gaweł, O.Carm, was detained in the northern town of Lepel for alleged espionage. Video footage showed members of the country’s national intelligence agency bundling the 27-year-old Carmelite out of a car and onto the ground.
Polish authorities dismissed the spying allegation as “nonsense.” Gaweł could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Also in September, the lay Catholic journalist Ihar Losik was freed after five years in prison. The 33-year-old was one of 52 political prisoners released after U.S. President Donald Trump appealed to Lukashenko, promising an easing of sanctions on Belarus’ national airline in return.
Trump announced Nov. 9 that John Coale, who helped secure the releases, would serve as his special envoy to Belarus, with a mission to obtain the freedom of additional detainees.
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