The 11th pilgrimage train of Our Lady left Budapest for the Pentecost farewell in Csíksomlyo on Thursday morning from Keleti railway station.
Attila Fülöp, the State Secretary responsible for care policy at the Ministry of the Interior, said before the start: for the 11th time, the pilgrimage proclaims that Hungarians preserve, profess and defend the Christian faith. This is much needed in today's confusing, unpredictable world. Pilgrimage also strengthens the community and gives it faith.
The state secretary said goodbye by saying that the pilgrim train should be a pilgrim train of faith in life, hope and the future.
Miklós Soltész, the Prime Minister's Secretary of State responsible for church and ethnic relations, asked the participants to pray for peace and tranquility between people, communities and nations on the pilgrimage.
He especially emphasized that they pray for the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, who was shot on Wednesday, and for the Slovak nation.
"It doesn't matter what happens in a Christian country in which the values are the same as Hungary's, and it doesn't matter who leads that country," he said. He added that for decades the relationship between the two countries was burdened by many problems, but today friendship and cooperation are typical. Miklós Soltész also asked the participants to pray for the Hungarian-Romanian communities and friendship on the road.
László Mosóczi, the general manager of MÁV-Start Zrt. recalled: since 2011, the railway company, in cooperation with Misszió Tours, has transported thirty pilgrim trains and around 23,000 passengers to domestic and international pilgrimage sites.
This year, seven hundred pilgrims will travel to one of the most important gatherings of Hungarians in the twelve carriages of the Bolgodasszony Pilgrimage Train.
Csongor Csáky, the president of the Rákóczi Association, highlighted in his welcome that three hundred high school students will travel by train this year in their organization.
In addition to the domestic, cross-border, Highland and Transcarpathian youth, many people came from the distant diaspora, from Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia, he explained. He started the young people on their journey with the hope that the pilgrimage would provide them with the experience of national unity and pray together for peace, Hungary and Europe.
Pécs County Bishop László Felföldi also emphasized the importance of peace in his greeting. He said that young people are the creators of the new peace. Lajos Varga, the assistant bishop of the Diocese of Vác, also greeted the participants and blessed the train, the passengers and the pilgrimage.
MTI
Cover image: Miklós Soltész, the Prime Minister's State Secretary responsible for church and ethnic relations, gives a speech before the departure of the pilgrimage train to Csíksomlyo at Keleti railway station in Budapest
Source: MTI/Péter Lakatos
