Hundreds of thousands of Catholics at the pilgrimage from Șumuleu Ciuc. The President of Hungary, among the pilgrims

Almost 300,000 believers participated in the Catholic Pentecost pilgrimage from Şumuleu Ciuc, in Harghita County, known as the largest Catholic pilgrimage in Central and Eastern Europe, informs News.ro. Among the pilgrims is the president of Hungary, Sulyok Tamás.

The president of Hungary, Sulyok Tamás, was also present at the service of the Holy Liturgy of Pentecost, held outdoors.

“The pilgrimage from Şumuleu Ciuc is inextricably linked to the feeling of national belonging. This event represents one of the greatest and most significant experiences of communal and spiritual unity of the Hungarian people. Tens of thousands of Hungarians come on pilgrimage every year from different corners of the world to pray together to the Virgin Mary for their fellow men, for our homeland and for our nation. Let us give thanks for the spiritual bond that unites us”, he wrote, on Saturday evening, on his Facebook page, the president of Hungary, Sulyok Tamás.

During his visit to Romania in 2019, Pope Francis prayed at the statue of the Virgin Mary from Şumuleu Ciuc and presented the Sanctuary with the Golden Rose, which he placed at the feet of the statue.

The procession from Sumuşlu Ciuc has its origins in 1567, when the local Szeklers defended the Catholic faith by fighting, in front of the troops of the Unitarian prince Ioan Sigismund.

The locals say that only with the help of the miracle-working statue from Şumuleu Ciuc they managed to resist and keep their ancestral faith.

Since then, on Pentecost Saturday, Catholics from all over the world, most of them Hungarian-speaking, come on pilgrimage, pray at the statue of the Holy Virgin Mary in Şumuleu Ciuc and participate in the open-air service that is officiated from an altar located in the saddle between Şumuleul Mare and Şumuleul Mic.

The Inspectorate for Emergency Situations Harghita informs that 19 people, including four minors, needed medical attention.

“In the context of today's events, occasioned by the traditional Catholic Pentecost pilgrimage from Şumuleu-Ciuc, 19 people were medically assisted by the crews engaged in the mission. Among them, a person with a suspected lower limb fracture was transported to the hospital, for additional medical investigations, and 18 people, with various medical conditions and traumas, received care, in order to restore their health, both at The Advanced Medical Post, as well as in the first aid point, located on Dealul Şumuleul Mic, respectively in the parking lot of the Franciscan Cathedral”, states ISU Harghita.