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Kazakh artist Dosbol Kasymov...

created the possibly first-ever painting of Mary and the Child Jesus as native Kazakhs... 

that will be displayed in Kazakhstan’s only Marian shrine, in the town of Ozernoe, about 250 miles northwest of Astana. Titled 'The Mother of the Great Steppe', the large icon was commissioned by Archbishop Tomasz Peta, the head of Kazakhstan’s Catholic diocese Maria Santissima in Astana. 

The finished icon, a triptych, includes a panel as well, on each side, depicting an ethnically Kazakh angel, playing traditional musical instruments. It was blessed by Pope Francis during his September visit to Kazakhstan, where more than 70% of the population is Muslim.

Ethnic Kazakhs are predominantly Sunni Muslims... 

the most commonly practiced religion in the country. According to a 2009 national census, the second most practiced religion is Russian Orthodox Christianity, at more than 20%. The country, which has approximately 250,000 Latin-rite Catholics, according to 2008 statistics, is also home to many immigrants.

Nationally-acclaimed painter Kasymov said, he hopes his work will be received by the people of Kazakhstan 'with love, with warmth, because above all, it is the image of the mother. Here is my personal opinion: I think that Kazakhs are very tolerant, they easily accept any culture.'

After the blessing...

the triptych will be placed in a new prayer chapel... 

at the Mary Queen of Peace Shrine in Ozernoe.

Archbishop Peta said the new chapel will be built in the shape of a yurt, the traditional round tent used by nomadic groups in Central Asia. The shrine is also getting a new pilgrim welcome center dedicated to St. John Paul II.

The new chapel 'is for all people, regardless of faith and nationality; this yurt will be a meeting place with Mary, and through Mary, with Jesus,' Peta said. 

Kasymov said he faced a difficult decision... 

when Peta asked him to create an icon of Mary and the Child Jesus... 

given that he himself is not Christian, nor even particularly religious.

'When the offer came in to write this work, of course I had my doubts,' he said. 'But then I talked to my relatives, brothers, friends and they said, ‘Of course you should write it, it’s our common culture!’'

Kasymov said he is also interested to see how his depiction of Our Lady of the Steppe interacts with the many European images of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 'I want to praise our beauty, too, and I want the beauty of our women, the beauty of our mothers to be understandable,' he said.

[bron]