Romania’s largest religious pilgrimage brings thousands of people to Iaşi

Over 70,000 people from all over the country were present in the north-eastern Romania city of Iaşi this past Sunday, October 13, to pray at the relics of St. Parascheva, Stiri.tvr.ro reported.

The feast of St. Parascheva, celebrated on October 14, brings about the largest religious pilgrimage in the country. People go to pray at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iaşi, where the relics are deposited.

Some people queued for up to 20 hours to pray at the relics and by Sunday afternoon the queue had reached 4 km in length.

The organizers of the event decided to widen the queue to allow 10 to 12 people to stand next to one other. Those who reached the site on Saturday afternoon only made it to the reliquary on Sunday at noon, News.ro reported.

Over 300 people needed medical attention during the first three days of the pilgrimage and 32 were taken to the hospital for various conditions.

On Saturday evening, over 25,000 people took part in the pilgrimage called the Saint’s Way, where the reliquary with the relics of St. Parascheva, considered the protector of Moldavia, was carried by priests on the streets in downtown Iaşi.

Also on Saturday evening, the relics of St. Spiridon, Bishop of Trimythous, made it to Iaşi from Corfu, Greece.

On Monday, October 14, a religious service is scheduled to take place on a stage set up in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

(Photo: Mircea Florescu/ Basilica.ro)