Opinions & Interviews

BUDSLAV, 8 July (BelTA) – The 400th anniversary of the Budslav Icon of the Mother of God is a celebration for the whole Belarusian people, BelTA learnt from Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz.

Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz noted that he took part in the pilgrimage to Budslav. “The pilgrims were flocking to Budslav. I rode bike, then walked and was caught in the rain. But it did not stop us. All the people continued their way to Budslav to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Mother of God icon together,” Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz underlined.

President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran came from Rome to attend the celebrations, too. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz said that Jean-Louis Tauran is a famous and reputable hierarch from the Vatican, whom the Pope sent for the festive occasion in Belarus. The Pope also sent his blessings to the Belarusian people. Earlier Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko met with Jean-Louis Tauran and discussed further cooperation between Belarus and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Mother of God icon from Budslav is one of the most revered icons of the Catholic Church and is famous for numerous miracles. Every year pilgrims from Belarus and other countries come to see it. In 2013 the festival in Budslav brought together about 45,000 pilgrims. The state provided the Roman Catholic Church with all necessary assistance in the preparation for the celebration. The state allocated money for the renovation project of the Roman Catholic church in Budslav and additional trains were launched to transfer pilgrims to Budslav. A special postmark has been also issued to mark the 400th anniversary of the acquisition of the Budslav icon of the Mother of God.

The festivities in Budslav concluded on 6 July.