Slovenia is a nation of just two million, but Slovenian communities can be found in all corners of the world, often congregating around their churches, which are much more than a place of worship.

Apart from the Slovenian historic communities in the neighbouring countries, the largest Slovenian communities abroad can be found in the United States, Argentina, Canada and Australia.

Slovenians moved overseas in great numbers after the first and second world wars, either for economic or political reasons.

They are known to be quick to adapt and integrate but they still cherish their identity and ties with their homeland or the homeland of their forefathers, often with the help of priests.

There are some 45 Slovenian priests who currently provide spiritual care among Slovenian communities worldwide, as well as some 40 priests, nuns and monks who work abroad as missionaries.

Anton Jamnik, the auxiliary bishop of Ljubljana who heads the Congregation for Slovenians Abroad, says priests attending to Slovenian communities abroad are mostly responsible for conducting religious services, delivering the sacraments, visiting the elderly and the sick, and caring for young families.

They also run schools where young people and others can learn Slovenian, and organise various social and cultural activities to strengthen the ties between Slovenians and preserve their identity.

"The Slovenian pastoral centre in Brussels, for instance, regularly hosts various exhibitions, lectures and family seminars, and in Argentina many different cultural activities are being organised. Such events often attract non-religious people as well," Jamnik says.

St Cyril's hub of Slovenian New York community

The Church of St Cyril in the East Village, Manhattan has served as the centre of the Slovenian community in New York since 1916.

Led by charismatic Franciscan father Martin Krizolog since the 1990s, the church hosts various events and gatherings, including exhibitions, concerts, receptions and celebrations such as St Martin's.

"Ours is one of the few ethnic churches still in operation ... To persevere in the Slovenian spirit and culture in this metropolis of the world is a great achievement, and as they say, if you succeed in New York, you succeed everywhere, and we did," Krizolog said during the centenary celebration in 2016.

Jamnik says that the church has been an unofficial cultural and social centre of New York Slovenians and visitors from Slovenia, especially after the Slovenian consulate general in the city closed in 2012.

Preserving Slovenian language in Argentina

France Cukjati, a priest from the Ljubljana Archdiocese, has been working in Argentina for almost 40 years. He currently serves in Buenos Aires, providing services for several Slovenian communities with the help of an assistant.

All spiritual care, education and other activities in the Slovenian centres are performed in Slovenian, Cukjati says. For those who do not understand Slovenian well enough, he explains things in Spanish.

He believes Slovenian priests play an important role in the preservation of the Slovenian language and culture among the Slovenian communities. "Some lay people tell us that if there were no priests in Slovenian centres abroad, the Slovenian language would have died out long ago," he told the Slovenian Press Agency.

There is the fourth generation of Slovenians now living in Argentina, but there is still interest in the Slovenian language and culture among them.

A lot depends on their parents. "If their parents or grandparents were also interested in Slovenian, or if they spoke Slovenian at home, then this interest is all the greater," Cukjati says.

Those who want to learn or improve their Slovenian can enrol in Slovenian schools or courses organised by the pastoral centre. "Children go to Argentinian schools during the week where they speak Spanish, and on Saturdays they go to a Slovenian school. Many young people come to Slovenian centres just to socialise and for entertainment and cultural activities we organise," he says.

Many descendants of Slovenians living in Argentina also take interest in Slovenia for economic reasons: "Given the economic crisis in Argentina, many are looking for opportunities elsewhere. This is easier for the descendants of Slovenians because they can get Slovenian citizenship because of their Slovenian roots."

Slovenian friar responsible for parish in Greenland

Slovenian communities aside, a Slovenian priest is responsible for the small Catholic parish in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, whose members gather for mass every Sunday.

Minorite friar Tomaž Majcen has been living in a monastery in Copenhagen, Denmark for seven years, but spends three weeks in Nuuk several times a year to take care of preparations for sacraments such as christenings and first communions, according to the Catholic weekly Družina.

For a confirmation, the bishop of Copenhagen comes to Nuuk. Apart from Majcen, other priests visit the Catholics in Nuuk to ensure that there is at least one Catholic priest available for the community.

Catholics in Greenland are mostly immigrants from the Philippines as well as from Vietnam, but also Danes who have married there. Most of them are in Greenland for work, Družina reported.

Coming back often hardest thing for missionaries

Unlike priests, missionaries are sent abroad to spread faith among foreigners. Most of some 40 Slovenian missionaries abroad are in Madagascar, including the best known Slovenian missionary Peter Opeka, as well as in Brazil and Ukraine, while just one or two work in missions elsewhere.

Matjaž Križnar, the head of the centre for missionaries, says missionaries are often confronted with people's hardships and poverty, and they try to help them in different ways. Aside from their religious work, they provide education, run clinics, build houses and roads and such.

They are helped mainly by the Catholic charity Slovenska Karitas and the centre run by Kržnar. The centre raises between €1.5 million and €2 million for their work and projects every year, transferring the money directly to the missionaries.

"Every missionary has a special account where the money is collected and when they need it they get it," Križnar told the Slovenian Press Agency.

It is the bishop of the person's diocese who gives the permission for them to join a mission, no matter whether they are members of the clergy, religious orders or lay people. There is no rule on how long someone can stay in a mission.

"Many, especially lay people would join a mission for a year and then extend their stay if they wish. Some return when their health fails them, and some stay in the mission until they die and are buried there", says Križnar, adding that it is sometimes harder to come back and integrate back into European society than joining a mission in the first place.

Sister Zvonka in Angola

Zvonka Mikec, a member of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, has been a missionary for 33 years. She has always worked in Africa, first in Angola, then in Mozambique for two years, and now she is back in Angola.

At the beginning of her missionary work, she was mainly involved in pastoral work, teaching children and providing social assistance. Because of the war in Angola, she also helped with the refugees.

Currently, her work mainly involves coordinating and fundraising for the projects of the eight mission stations where 39 sisters from her religious order work.

"We have five kindergartens, six primary schools and two secondary schools in ten parishes. We serve between 10,000 and 12,000 people daily. Connecting all this and finding the resources means a lot of work," she says.

Nun Zvonka Mikec, a missionary in Angola. Photo: Zvonka Mikec

In admitting children to school they try to prioritise Christians, but do not exclude others. "We try to choose mainly from those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to go to school, but also from those who are closer to the school so our neighbours are not on the street. Above all, we try to help the poorest, those who really need the most help."

People, she says, accept them and love them. "Most are very grateful for what we do. The government also respects us and lets us work, which is not the case in all the countries around the world where missionaries work."

Mikec returns to Slovenia every two or three years, mainly to breathe the home air, as she says. Asked how much longer she plans to work in the missions, she says: "I hope for the rest of my life, God willing."