Pilgrims on horseback were properly received in the saddle of Csíksomlyó on Friday evening. More than two hundred horsemen brought the prayer intentions and petitions of Hungarians living in the world to Szűzanya from every corner of Székelyföld and the motherland, from hundreds of kilometers.
"It was a challenge to take part in the horse pilgrimage, our group of eighteen started from Zetelaka, the journey was not easy in the heat," said Csaba Biró, a young man from Zetelaka, who undertook the horse pilgrimage for the second time.
We feel an inner motivation to set off, we are all riders, the pilgrimage provides us with a communal experience
added the young pilgrim on horseback.
In the saddle of Csíksomlyó, 211 equestrian pilgrims from all over Székelyföld and the motherland gathered, who were welcomed by the local city administration, politicians and representatives of historic churches, who organized a celebration in their honor.
Attila Korodi, mayor of Csíkszereda Photo: Nándor Veres
"God has welcomed you!" - Attila Korodi, the mayor of Csíkszereda, greeted the gathered, who emphasized in his speech that providence had brought the two holidays, the Pentecost farewell and the National Unity Day on June 4, to one day, in order to create the opportunity to celebrate our Hungarian our community, our world of faith, regardless of the times.
"The Hungarian language is ours, we are the Hungarian community.
Borders may change, but nothing can override unity, the one Hungarian faith, thinking in community.
Anyone can say anything, in Brussels, in Europe, we know that Hungarians are one," said the city manager.
János Árpád Potápi, State Secretary for National Policy at the Prime Minister's Office Photo: Nándor Veres
We are here, we are here and we are Hungarians
János Árpád Potápi, the Prime Minister's State Secretary responsible for national policy, also made a pilgrimage to Csíksomlyo on horseback. "In Csíksomlyo, we can celebrate together what the Hungarians celebrate, that we are here, we are here and we are Hungarians. The most important thing is that we have survived, and in recent years we can list countless results, the most important of which is that
we were able to strengthen the feeling of national belonging, but even more so the experience of being Hungarian
in our children, our youth, in our Hungarian communities, in Hungary, in the regions of the Carpathian Basin and in the diaspora," he emphasized. He added that the equestrian pilgrimage was organized for the fifth time, this year a record number of riders arrived.
"Not everyone can take part in the farewell in the saddle in Csíksomlyó, but those who cannot be present can also connect with the holiday in spirit. Many of them delivered their messages and prayer requests to the pilgrims on horseback: from Canada to Australia, from Argentina to the Scandinavian regions, messages came from everywhere, both from Hungarian and Transylvanian settlements. The basic motto of the messages is peace and goodness, safety.
We all want every member of our nation to live the next period in peace"
- He told.
Erik Urbán, provincial chief of the Transylvanian Franciscan Order Photo: Nándor Veres
The prayer fits together
Erik Urbán, the provincial chief of the Transylvanian Franciscan Order, spoke about the specific symbols of the pilgrims, as he listed, in the past pilgrims wore the walking stick, the bag and the shell symbolizing eternity, later the bus and folding chairs showed that people were pilgrims.
"Today, the pilgrim symbol has been enriched with a new color, since
the pilgrims on horseback not only come to Csíksomlyo, but collect the prayers of all Hungarian people of good will who cannot come to the saddle, but are here among us.
Even though we are torn apart, words spoken in our mother tongue, petitions and prayers written in our mother tongue sew us together, unite us," he said.
Ferenc Liszt Prize-winning opera singer Levente Molnár sings the anthem together with two participants Photo: Nándor Veres
Representatives of historic churches also spoke at the ceremony, and those present could listen to the performance of the Ferenc Liszt Prize-winning opera singer Levente Molnár, who came as a pilgrim. The participants sang the hymns together.
After the event, the ceremony continued at the Székely Division memorial erected at Fodor Ház, where the Csíkszentsimon Youth Brass Band played songs appropriate to the occasion, then the members of the Csíkszéki Mátyás Huszár Association raised and then lowered our national flag to half-mast.
István Gergely (Tiszti), head of the Csibész Foundation Photo: Nándor Veres
You have to stick to the ground
István Gergely (Tiszti), the head of the Csibész Foundation, spoke about the need to stick to the footprint of land for which we are responsible, in addition to our culture, our mother tongue and our father's grave, the common experiences that connect us.
Kelemen Hunor, president of RMDSZ, deputy prime minister Photo: Nándor Veres
Kelemen Hunor, president of the RMDSZ and deputy prime minister, also spoke, emphasizing in his speech that knowledge and competitiveness are what keep us going. "We here in the Carpathian Basin, in the 21st century, must be able to prosper without giving up our homeland, without giving up a foot of land, none of it, without giving up our language and culture, and not giving in to the pressure of assimilation," he said.
Written by Barabás Hajnal
