The last communist leader of the Soviet Union, has admitted that he is a Christian. Mikhail Gorbachev acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time on Wednesday (19th March) when he paid a surprise visit to the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.
Accompanied by his daughter Irina, Mr Gorbachev spent half an hour on his knees in silent prayer at the tomb.
"It was through St Francis that I arrived at the Church, so it was important that I came to visit his tomb," Mr Gorbachev is quoted as saying.
"St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ," said Mr Gorbachev. "His story fascinates me and has played a fundamental role in my life," he added.
Mr Gorbachev's surprise visit confirmed decades of rumours that, although he was forced to publicly pronounce himself an atheist, he was in fact a Christian. He was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church and his parents were Christians. His wife, Raisa, came from a deeply religious home. Her devout parents were killed during the Second World War for having religious icons in their home.
Former US president Ronald Reagan allegedly told close aides on a number of occasions that he felt his Cold War opponent was a "closet believer".
Mr Gorbachev was said to have been deeply touched by his meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1989. On the eve of that meeting Gorbachev said the Soviet Union had erred in long rejecting religion and needed its moral force to help make his plans for a restructured society work.
On Wednesday, after his prayers, Mr Gorbachev toured the Basilica of St Francis and asked in particular to be shown an icon of St Francis portraying his "dream at Spoleto".
The former Soviet leader said he felt emotional being “at such an important place not only for the Catholic faith, but for all humanity."
He also asked the monks for theological books to help him understand St Francis's life.
According to Fr Miroslavo Anuskevic, the other worshippers in the church did not recognise Mr Gorbachev. “He seemed a man deeply inspired by charity, and told me that he was involved in a project to help children with cancer,” said the priest who accompanied Mr Gorbachev during his visit.
"He talked a lot about Russia and said that even though the transition to democracy had been very important for the world, it was very painful for Russia. He said it was a country which has a great history, and also a great spirituality,” said Fr Anuskevic.
Russia is considered one of the least religious countries in Europe, with only 50 percent of its people saying they are religious and only seven percent describing themselves as highly religious, according to a major study on faith, conducted by German think tank Bertelsmann Foundation, released in December.
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