The Virgin attracts many souls in Slovakia

Thousands of believers came to Marian Hill near Levoča (Prešov Region), where one the biggest and oldest pilgrimages in Slovakia culminated on July 6th and 7th. The organizers estimate that as many as 400,000 people came over the weekend.

“This place is so close to not only you, pilgrims from all over Slovakia, but also those coming from neighboring countries, like Hungary and Poland,” said Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, who officiated the Holy Mass on July 7th. Marian Hill has been writing the history of the salvation of God’s people in this country for centuries, he added, reminding of several important milestones in its history and the fact that the pilgrimages also took place during the totalitarian regimes.

Rylko said that the legacy of the Levoča pilgrimage is still alive today.

“Times have changed, some anti-religious ideologies have disappeared, but the new ones, which may be even more dangerous, have appeared,” Rylko said, as quoted by TASR. “However, Marian Hill remains a strong place of Evangelization where the Virgin Mary plays a crucial role. She opens her heart to all those who suffer, who have lost their aim in life. The Madonna from Levoča lures many souls and you, dear pilgrims, are a real proof of that particularly today, in times of the secularization of our European continent.”

The organizers did not expect so many people to attend the opening Holy Mass on July 6th, the pilgrimage’s spokesperson Jozef Lapšanský admitted.

“We were positively surprised,” Lapšanský said, adding there were many young people and families with children. There were also more pilgrims who came on foot from various parts of Slovakia.

Compiled by Spectator staff