Behbud Mustafayev (born March 13, 1982 , the Azerbaijan SSR) is the first Azerbaijani known in the history of the Roman Catholic Church to become a Catholic priest [1] .
| Behbud Mustafayev | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | March 13, 1982 (age 37) |
| Place of Birth | Azerbaijan SSR |
| Citizenship |  USSR →  Azerbaijan |
| Occupation | a priest |
Biography
He graduated from high school and the Azerbaijan National Aviation Academy. He served as an officer of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In 2008, he was baptized in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baku. In 2011, he entered the seminary “ Mary - Queen of the Apostles ” in St. Petersburg [2] .
On May 29, 2016, in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Petersburg, he was ordained deacon to serve in the apostolic prefecture of Azerbaijan . The ordination was performed by the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mother of God Paolo Pezzi [3] .
On May 7, 2017, Pope Francis ordained Deacon Behbud Mustafayev to the priests in St. Peter's Basilica [4] .