The head of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Yusof Stanevsky, during the mass for which all the priests of the archdiocese are gathering, the metropolitan mentioned in a prayer the priests who are in prison. Telegram channel "Christian Vision" drew attention to this.

"For those who connect with us spiritually - priests who could not come. For the priests who could not come due to illness, for the priests who are in prison, in captivity. For all of us, and for those who are looking for happiness in the world," said Archbishop Yusof Stanevsky.

Yusof Stanevsky became the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus in September 2021. Before Stanevsky, this position was held by Tadevush Kondrusevich. In 2020, Kondrusevich criticized the violence committed by the authorities after the falsified presidential elections. He was not allowed to return to his homeland from abroad for almost 4 months and was allowed to enter Belarus only in December 2020. In January 2021, Tadevush Kondrusevich retired.

In 2023, 10 Catholic priests were arrested in Belarus. Three of them remained in prison at the end of the year, according to the report of the organization Aid to the Church in Need. More priests were persecuted than in Belarus only in Nicaragua: 46 people were imprisoned there in 2023.

Catholic priest Gennady Akalatovich is accused of treason (Article 356 of the Criminal Code).