Csíksomlyó pilgrimage 2018 – Photos, videos

Csíksomlyó pilgrimage/búcsú 2018

Zsolt Semjén, Hungary’s deputy prime minister, called the annual pilgrimage to Sumuleu Ciuc (Csíksomlyó) in central Romania “a spiritual powerhouse” on Saturday.

Sumuleu Ciuc/Csíksomlyó became a pilgrimage site in 1567,

when Hungarian king John II Sigismund Zapolya wanted to convert the Szekler population to Protestantism. The Szeklers refused to convert and fought back. A battle took place on a nearby field, on Saturday before Pentecost, which was won by the Szeklers. Since then, the event has been commemorated by a pilgrimage when Catholics gather on Pentecost every year.

Csíksomlyó pilgrimage/búcsú 2018

“Great many Hungarians, irrespective of their religious affiliation, gather here year by year to reinforce themselves in their national identity and Christian mission,” Semjén told reporters after the Pentecostal holy mass had been celebrated.

The sermon focussed on the protection of life which is all the more important as the mass was attended by what seemed to be a record number of young people,

he said.

Semjén said that Europe had become vulnerable because it had lost its identity and allowed Islam to penetrate it without facing any resistance.

“This pilgrimage therefore carries the message that Europe can only survive if it retains Christianity and preserves its identity, if the European nations are proud of their national identity,” he said.

Csíksomlyó pilgrimage/búcsú 2018

“The hundreds of thousands of Hungarians gathering here also send a clear message to Romania on its centenary: they want to survive in their native land,” he said.

Semjén said Romania’s ethnic Hungarians demand nothing more than what Transylvania’s Romanian community promised them in the Alba Iulia/Gyulafehérvár declaration of 1918.