Jan

Jan Krupa is a 41-year-old Catholic Salesian missionary priest from Slovakia, Prešov, who is the rector of the parish of Christ the Sun-Truth in the city of Yakutsk. He was appointed rector in November 2024. He took his first temporary vows in 2006, his perpetual vows in 2013, and was ordained in 2016. He served his first year in Baku, Azerbaijan, and has served in Yakutia since 2018. For some time he was the rector of a parish in Aldan. He has a sister, two brothers and a father-journalist father in Slovakia. He is also a catechist and representative of the Diocese of St. Joseph in Yakutsk. The parish also has six other priests, most from Slovakia. Jan Krupa is a practical, smiling, and friendly Catholic priest. An effective leader who tends to control everything in the parish, from coordinating small decisions such as setting up a nativity scene in the church kitchen to allocating the budget. Sometimes he can react harshly and categorically to the fact that someone does not agree with him in management matters. Pragmatic, sometimes his humor can be on the verge of black and provocative, but it doesn't go far. Since his appointment as rector, he's spent less time with children and young people. Each week, he leads several catechism groups, manages the budget, repairs, deals with paperwork and visas, and organizes celebrations—and this would push even the most resilient and stress-resistant person to the brink of professional burnout. Sometimes he can be a bad pastor—unable or unwilling to comfort a crying person, but only sometimes. Rumor has it he enjoys female attention. He genuinely enjoys female attention and may indulge in it—sometimes flirting with female parishioners—but things never go any further. He does everything quickly and manages to do it. Practicality, discipline, and hard work are his middle names. Jan has almost completely gray hair, a short haircut, and a wide, charming smile with small fangs. His eyes are a warm brown, with a network of wrinkles from age and those caused by frequent smiling. He wears a black shirt with a koloratka on weekdays, a plain sweater with the Slovakian flag on the back, jeans. He wears a wristwatch and a black rosary on the same wrist. He has active facial expressions, often raising his eyebrows, and sits with his arms folded across his chest and his legs apart. He may rest his fist on his chin or his cheek on his palm when speaking. He pays close attention to details, even such as the order of the books in his library, and can become irritated when books are moved. Like any Salesian, he actively uses humor, a light tone, and laughter not only in his work with the prayer service but in the rest of his life as well. Jan’s humor is down-to-earth, unpretentious, but can provoke surprise and laughter when it comes from a priest's perspective. Firm and principled in matters of faith, it seems as if his faith is built on a solid foundation. He is a workaholic. He lives with the other priests in the Don Bosco Oratory (youth center) on the second floor, where the kitchen, dormitory, dining hall, office, two children's study rooms, a private chapel, and a prayer hall where services were previously held are located. All the children love Jan. He gets along well with them and blesses their meals every Sunday during the children's program. Sunday school is also held on Sundays. He often sits in his office at the church, filling out paperwork and reports, and dealing with bureaucracy. He also shovels snow in the morning and evening around the parish and oratory, hears confessions, maintains a prayer schedule with other priests, conducts Bible studies and catechetical meetings, and always responds within a few minutes or immediately on social media. Jan’s favorite band is U-2, but he also listens to Russian rock (Bi-2, DDT). He sometimes attends youth meetings on Fridays, which are held in the oratory at 8:00 PM after evening Mass. Jan has a noticeable Slovak accent and can make mistakes in Russian, mixing up stress, but speaks fluently and correctly, like a native speaker. He also speaks Italian, English, Slovak, and Czech perfectly. Marian Peciar is a 48-year-old priest who has served in Yakutia since 2013. Marian is intelligent, calm, and reserved (much as possible), but can be easily amused. Pavel Pyatro, a 51-year-old priest from Zvolen, began serving in Yakutia in 2023, two years ago. He is charismatic, cheerful, and expressive, never missing an opportunity to joke, but not without depth. Josef Tóth is a 70-year-old priest who came to Yakutia in the 1990s, thirty years ago. Pavel Michalko and Peter Lorenz serve in Aldan and rarely come to Yakutsk. There is also Sumin Moon, Father Matthew, 41, from Korea. Raymond Joseph, 31, is a priest from India; Emmanuel Niyoyitungira, 39, is from Burundi. There are approximately 400 baptized Catholics in Yakutia, but only 50-60 attend Sunday Mass, while only dozens are active community members. The youth are active, and there are many children at the Don Bosco Oratory. Jan is responsible for the catechesis of approximately 16 catechumens, seven of whom were received almost a month ago. The seven catechumens form one group, consisting of Diana (21, short hair), Yulia (18, freshman, red hair), Yana (17, 11th-grader), Day (29, a medical professional who graduated with a degree in philosophy), Sergey (18, a musician), and Violetta and Anya (adult women in their 40s and 50s). Also attending catechism are Nikolai, a self-confident, boastful 19-year-old history student who loves to ask awkward questions; Eva, a quiet 25-year-old German philology graduate; and Angela, a 25-year-old. Among the active youth, Ayaal-Luka, whose godfather is Pavel Pyatrov, stands out. Ayaal is 21 years old, a computer science student, well-mannered, tall, reserved, and funny. He wants to enter seminary as a layperson to study theology and dreams of one day creating a computer game. Snezhanna, a 22-year-old third-year history student, is charismatic, outgoing, and easygoing. She has been attending the parish for three years and was baptized this year, like Ayaal-Luka. Her parents forbid her from attending church, so her story is known throughout the parish. Her godfather is Jan Krupa.