Pope Francis in Kazakhstan, Faith on the Steppes| National Catholic Register

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan — A large yet simple, white concrete cross overlooks the vast green plains. It is erected on a foothill to remember those who suffered and those who died during the decades of Soviet oppression and hardship. It towers over a lake and a small village in the north of Kazakhstan. 

During his three-day visit to the Central Asian country, Pope Francis is not scheduled to visit this cross, the little village of Ozernoe, or the Marian shrine of Our Lady, Queen of Peace one can find there. Yet this little island of Christian faith in a vast, Muslim country tells a lot about the small Catholic minority Pope…