Bishop of San Giuseppe a Irkutsk
Kirill Klimovich was born on November 5, 1952, in Kazakhstan. He spent his childhood in the Byelorussian SSR before moving with his family to Poland. In 1974, he entered the "Hosianum" Major Seminary in Olsztyn, Poland, graduating in 1980. He was ordained a priest on June 8, 1980, by the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp. He served as a parochial vicar in the towns of Wydminy, Pasłęk, and Klewki, near Olsztyn. In July 1990, he began his ministry in Belarus, serving as a parish priest and dean in the town of Hlybokaye within the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev. On October 13, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev, assigning him the titular see of Arban; he was ordained a bishop on December 4, 1999, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minsk by Cardinal Kazimierz Świątek. From 1999 to 2003, he served as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev and rector of the cathedral in Minsk. On April 17, 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed him Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Joseph in Irkutsk; his canonical and liturgical installation took place on June 15, 2003, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God in Irkutsk. He served as Deputy Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia from 2005 to 2011 and again from March 18, 2026. He heads the Catechetical Commission and the Commission for Inter-Christian and Inter-Religious Dialogue and Dialogue with Non-Believers.