President attends Pentecost Pilgrimage

Budapest (MTI) – Everyone should “pay heed” to the message of loyalty heard at the sermon in Sumuleu Ciuc (Csiksomlyo), President Janos Ader said on Saturday.

The president and First Lady Anita Herczegh attended the annual Pentecost Pilgrimage in Sumuleu Ciuc, where hundreds of thousands of believers gathered to join the open-air mass led by Gyorgy Jakubinyi, Archbishop of Alba Iulia (Gyulafehervar).

“The sermon we heard was a message of loyalty. Loyalty to faith, loyalty to the homeland, the loyalty of being a part of a nation and the loyalty of keeping one’s native language,” the president said.

This year Pope Francis blessed the Pentecost Pilgrimage on the occasion that the local statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was carved 500 years ago.

Sumuleu Ciuc 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.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters