Catholic Cathedral in Iasi!
Preparations for a colossal visit ...
Thousands and thousands of pilgrims, from the country or abroad, head for foot to Sumuleu-Ciuc, the place where the great procession of Catholic Pentecostals, considered the largest in Central and Eastern Europe, will take place on Saturday.
Groups of people go slowly so that the elderly, but also the children can keep up, and carry religious flags in their hands. The luggage is carried by several carts drawn by horses, and from time to time they all stop resting and restoring their forces. Throughout the journey, they interpret religious hymns and say prayers that ask the Virgin Mary to bless them, to protect them from evil and to support them in what they do.
A young man from New Zealand was invited by his friends to take part in the procession and was excited about this experience.
"It's incredible, it's amazing. Being part of a 450-year tradition is really amazing. People are nice, friendly, I like it, "he said.
Pilgrims moving on foot are housed by locals, glad to help those who travel tens or even hundreds of miles.
The opening ceremony of the pilgrimage will take place on Friday evening at 19.00, followed by a night of waking and praying. The Holy Liturgy of Catholic Pentecostals will begin at 12.30 on Saturday at the Shumuleu Mic Shrine, on the outskirts of Miercurea Ciuc.
The pilgrimage on Sumuleu has a centuries-old tradition and is considered the largest in Central and Eastern Europe. In 1567, the prince of Transylvania, John Sigismund, tried to impose the unitarian religion on the Catholics in the Szekler churches of Ciuc, Gheorgheni and Casin.
Under the leadership of Istvan priest in Joseni, the Catholic faithful defeated the prince's army and returned to Sumuleu Ciuc to thank Virgin Mary. They worshiped the miraculous statues of the Virgin Mary, which is in the Franciscan monastery and which was made in 1515 in linden wood. Since then Catholic believers have participated each year at the Pentecost pilgrimage from Sumuleu Ciuc.
The local and county authorities, as well as the Order of the Transylvanian Franciscans, have started, for a long time, the steps to include this pilgrimage on the list of UNESCO's universal immaterial patrimony (EM)
Source
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This is how I happened to be close to two visits of a Pope in Romania ... Pope John Paul II, twenty years ago in Bucharest and now, Pope Franscisc, in Iasi. I'm not of Catholic religion but I have a great respect for this two Catholic rulers of the world, there have been and are people with great influence in the evolution of civilization in our world.
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