As part of the Hungarian days in Cluj, on August 13, the renovated Szent Mihály parish church on the main square of Cluj will be blessed, officials of the parish and the monument restoration announced at their press conference on Thursday.
The festive mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Gergely Kovács, the rebuilt altar will be consecrated by the papal nuncio Miguel Maury Buendia.
Parish priest Attila László, archdeacon, said: the altar table was made by bishop Áron Márton eighty years ago, but it was smashed during the communist dictatorship, and its pieces were removed from the church. The red marble slab was now placed on a stone plinth, and in addition to the existing relics, a place was also provided for the future relics of Bishop Áron Márton. This may come to Cluj if the bishop is beatified.
St. Michael's Church of Cluj/previous recording/Source: Veres Stelian
Attila László added: they are preparing for a three-day celebration, since the musical events related to the event begin the night before, and the congregation takes possession of the renovated church the day after the celebration. The archdeacon told MTI's question: once the renovation is completed, parts of the church tower that were previously only opened on special occasions will become accessible. He added that the tower will be open to visitors by the end of August, in which an exhibition space will be created, the sanctuary will be made walkable, and the "King's Staircase" will be opened, the two spiral staircases on the side of the church leading up to the top.
Szabolcs Ilyés, the project manager of the renovation, said: the Technical University of Budapest estimated the costs of the renovation at 14 million euros in 2014, and they started the work knowing that a fraction of this would be available.
In the end, they won a grant of nearly four million euros in a tourism tender announced from the sources of the European Union, to which was added the support of more than two million euros from the Hungarian government.
He added: the total amount of the renovation is close to seven million euros, the support of the EU and the Hungarian government was supplemented by the parish's own contribution, the support of the Romanian government and the Cluj-Napoca municipality, as well as donations, but a small part of the amount is still missing.
Attila Puskás, the leader of the KÉSZ-Group, which is renovating the church, said: over the years, 1,500 tons of waste were transported from the church, which was converted into a work area, 33,000 square meters of scaffolding were built in and around the building, 14,000 square meters of stone surface were cleaned, and only after the consultation of the parties involved in the works 8,000 working hours were spent. He added: they felt it was not so much a business venture, but a moral obligation to participate in the renovation of one of Transylvania's most significant monuments.
The main organizer of the Cluj Hungarian Days: Gergely Balázs said: The number one symbol of Cluj has been renewed, and this is a holiday for the whole city.
Thus, the crown of the Hungarian days will not be the church dedication, but the Hungarian days will be organized as a supplement to the church dedication.
Technical inspector Judit Márton said: a leaf drawn on one of the tiles of the church roof made him realize that for the former builders of the monument, it was important to add beauty to places where it is not visible at all or hardly. He added:
during the renovation, they tried to pay attention to every detail, to preserve these hidden beauties.
The parish church of St. Michael in Cluj was closed in March 2018 due to renovation works, and was reopened for church ceremonies on Christmas 2021.
The construction of the Gothic church began in the second half of the 14th century and was completed in the first half of the 15th century. The current neo-Gothic tower of the church was built between 1837 and 1859. St. Michael's Church was the scene of many historical events. Nearly fifty parliaments were held within its walls, and among the Transylvanian princes Zsigmond Báthory, Zsigmond Rákóczi, Gábor Báthory and Gábor Bethlen were installed here. Transylvanian Catholic Bishop Áron Márton gave his famous speech condemning the persecution of Jews here in May 1944.
Source: Vasarnap.hu
Featured Image: Wikipedia
