Each year during Pentecost, tens of thousands of pilgrims flood the center of the Csík-basin– and the roads that lead to Csíkszereda and Csíksomlyó within it- who come in the most diverse ways to the district’s Franciscan church to honour the miraculous Virgin Mary statue: by car, by bus, by train, and last but not least, they come by wagon and foot to gather at the Somlyó mountain. Travelers can experience a unique meeting of religious tourism and pilgrimage in the Csík Basin to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Csík Basin (Csíki-medence) is an inter-mountain basin of the Eastern Carpathians situated in the heart of Transylvania (modern-day Romania), and boasts an altitude of approximately 700 meters. Found in Harghita county, Csíksomlyó is the site of the famous Maria Shrine of the Catholic Szeklers, a centuries-old center of spiritual life and a place of pilgrimage. The enchanting natural surroundings of the town, between the Harghita Mountains and the Csík alps, await the crowds of pilgrims every year.
The earliest mention of the settlement was in 1335, as Sumlov. The gothic church located there was built by Franciscans in the 1440s, and was consecrated in honour of Our Lady of the Visitation in 1448. Throughout the turbulent years of history, the church has undergone many changes; it gained its modern appearance at the beginning of the 19th century, and the town and the Franciscan community have remained spiritual centers throughout the years. Here is where they keep the statue of the Virgin Mary, Csíksomlyó’s most valuable treasure, which some claim is the world’s largest shrine, with its height of 2.27 meters.

No written records exist of the statue’s construction and history, but judging by its style it is a Central-European Renaissance work, carved of linden wood, coated with plaster and paint, that has been restored several times over the centuries. The statue depicts a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, her head surrounded by a wreath of twelve stars, with her right hand holding a scepter, and her left holding baby Jesus. According to believers, the Virgin Mary has performed many miracles for them over the centuries.
In addition, it is a widespread faith and tradition, that touching or caressing the miraculous statue will bestow grace and allow the Virgin Mary to hear the prayers of the faithful. This is also common practice in many other places of pilgrimage in the world, such as Lourdes, where the cave statue of the Blessed Mother had to be placed higher due to constant caressing and kissing by visitors; now France allows believers to access only the rock beneath the statue. Another custom in Csíksomlyó that has been around for centuries is the dressing up of the statue. The locals sew decorative clothes for Mary and her child annually, and dress them according to the liturgical period.
Centuries of History
The Csíksomlyó pilgrimage and the local sacred rites look back onto a history that goes back hundreds of years. The first written records are sacred in nature, related to the special worship of the sun on Somlyó mountain. Only the faintest traces of the memories and traditions of the period prior to the “pilgrimage history” remain at the site: one of the most interesting of these “time capsules” is the Moldavian Pentecostal tradition of looking into the sun at dawn.
During the ritual, the Csángó usually go out to the Salvator chapel before sunrise, where they stay until dawn praying and talking. About an hour before the emergence of the sun they line up along the eastern slopes of the mountain, where they sing loudly while awaiting the celestial body. Following this, they stare rigidly into the blinding light through smoked glass, handkerchiefs, the tip of a headscarf, or sunglasses, for several minutes. Whoever, among the gathered, sees anything, will share their “vision” out loud, which is interpreted by the others, and expanded on with their own associations. According to the belief of the Moldavian Csángós, on Pentecost morn, the Holy Spirit can be seen in the form of a flying dove, and the figures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary – as well as other holy apparitions- can be seen in the sun rising over the eastern slope of the Kis-Somlyó mountain.
The Immaculate Virgin shrine holding the infant Jesus Christ. Image: jobbikit.hu
Regardless of this, the pilgrim-tsunami does not purely amass to worship the sun during the Csíksomlyó ‘Indulgence’ (the direct translation of the Hungarian word “Búcsú”), because after all, an indulgence cannot occur without a church; when members of the Franciscan Order settled in Csíksomlyó in the 1440s, their first task was to build a monastery and a church. Likewise, respect for the Blessed Virgin Mary also became rooted in the people of Csíksomlyó with the Franciscan settlement. It was custom to pay respects during the interim Marian feast days, and even members of the faith from neighboring towns would come to greet and worship the Blessed Mother. In 1444, Pope Eugenius IV encouraged members of the faith to continue to practice the ritual, and to offer indulgences to those who helped build the town church. Marian devotions became even more commonplace when the Gothic church gained the statue of Mary in the early 1500s. Thus, the congregation felt that the Blessed Mother is truly with them and living among them.
The culmination of the Pilgrimage occurred in 1567; many consider it the “start” of the Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage. It was then that János Zsigmond, Prince of Transylvania, wanted to impose the acceptance and practice of the Unitarian faith upon the Catholic Szekler population with force. Unwilling to accept this, the people of Gyergyó, Csík and Kászon 1567 gathered in Csíksomlyó on Pentecost Saturday, and they prayed to the Virgin Mary for intercession and protection of their faith before departing for battle . The battle ended with a victory for the oppressed, and after their return, they gave thanks to God and the Virgin Mary for help in Csíksomlyó. The Szeklers then vowed, that in honour of the event, they will make a pilgrimage to this holy place to pay their respects on Pentecost Saturday every year. The great pilgrimage faithfully continues to this day, and has for 451 years.
A symbol of the Hungarian solidarity
Today, the statue attracts such large crowds on Pentecost, that they cannot all fit in the church or even the square in front of it. The number of visitors has been estimated at 200-250,00 in recent years, and the ‘Indulgence’ pilgrimage has become a symbol of Hungarian solidarity over the past decades.
Pentecost Sunday celebratory Mass in the ‘saddle’ between the small and large-Csík mountains. Photo: Koszticsák Szilárd/ MTI.
According to the Búcsú schedule, the main ceremony will begin on Pentecost Saturday, the main event being the afternoon celebratory Mass at the Hármashalom altar, located between the Small and Large-Csík mountains in the ‘saddle’ (a valley named for the object it resembles) . The majority of pilgrims will have already arrived at Csíkszereda the previous day, while the locals join in on the morning procession to the “Jesus-hill” peak. The journey consists of several kilometers of marching. Bouts of song are wont to ring out, including the “Blessed Virgin Mother … forget not the poor Hungarians” and the Szekler anthem, with the well-known closing line, “Don’t let Transylvania be lost, Our God!“.
Following this, they proceed with an irregular mass schedule until Sunday , during which the shrine church and chapels can be visited any time, and night vigils and community prayers are held, as well as a ‘dance house’ (táncház) in Csíkszereda, where the pilgrimage visitors can be together and get to know each other.
This year, Pentecost falls on Sunday, May 20th. Upon the Csíksomlyó Jesus-hill, Christian Hungarians will bear witness to the symbolism of the Búcsú, confess their faith, and express their unity.
Written by Székely Tamás
Translated by Nagy Gergely Edward
( featured image via magyarvagyok.info)
Source: hungarytoday.hu