After a year off, the Sumuleu Ciuc took place this weekend in Romania, with many of the 35,000 attending from neighbouring Hungary.
Taking place in the Transylvania area of Romania, the event goes back 450 years. In 1567, the then Hungarian King John II Sigismund has attempted to convert his people to Protestantism, but they resisted. The monks who lived in the region then proceeded to begin the tradition of an annual Pentecost Pilgrimage in order to commemorate the event, thanking the Virgin Mary for her intercession.
The Franciscan Monastery where those monks were based houses the statue of Our Lady at which pilgrims offer their prayers.
Thousands of those who attended made their way on foot, both from inside Romania and from Hungary. Pope Francis was there in 2019, alongside 100,000 pilgrims.
Despite complaints from leftists over Covid restrictions, the event passed off without a problem.
