Pilgrimage Sites

The construction of the Calvary was realized by Bardejov’s parish priest Eduard Kaczvinszký. In 1858, the Roman Catholic Church in Bardejov bought on Postajka the first part of the land for the construction of the Calvary, which began in 1863. It was financed by generous collections and it was worked on by almost all the craftsmen in Bardejov and by many inhabitants of the city. Even though it was not completed yet, the bishop of Košice, Ján Perger blessed it in 1869. Holy Mass celebrations were held here three times a year: on Sunday after the feasts of the Finding and the Exultation of the Holy Cross (May 3 and September 14) and on the feast of Mary Magdalene (July 22).

It is the most important pilgrimage site of the Archdiocese of Košice, and is known to all faithful Catholics throughout Slovakia. Already in 1706, archbishop of Eger, Štefan Telekessa distinguished this pilgrimage place with the merciful painting of Holy Mary of the Scapular. We learn about the beginnings of Our Lady of Carmel fraternity in Gaboltov from the canonical visit of the parish in the year 1749. According to the visitation, the fraternity was founded 40 years ago by the past parish priest. According to canonical visits in the second half of the 18th century, pilgrimages to this site were an integral part of the spiritual life of the faithful in Gaboltov. Pilgrims came from the surrounding parishes, and the Gaboltov faithful also in turn pilgrimage to the surrounding parishes. It was not as big a pilgrimage at this time, as it is today. It was more of a matter for Gaboltov and the people from the immediate vicinity. Today, the pilgrimage is always on the following Saturday and Sunday after the feast of Our Lady of Carmel, therefore after July 16. Many pilgrims come to Gaboltov from all over Slovakia, many of whom are on foot.

On the hill of Calvary is a church built from the Foundation of Martin Ivanovics (1750 - 1773) and from the collections of the faithful. In front of it there are three crosses, the middle one with the image of our Crucified Lord painted on metal, and the other two crosses are without figures. Around the church there are six chapels (stations) in which Christ's suffering is depicted. The remaining Calvary chapels were built between 1911 and 1912, when the entire Calvary church and old chapels were being repaired. In 1996, a new external altar was built in front of the church, where Holy Mass is celebrated as well as various youth activities.

The origin of the Calvary is related to the activity of the Jesuits in Košice and the Association of Christ's agony. The origin of the Calvary Mountain was initiated in 1734 by Fr. Juraj Mihalóczi. The construction of the church began in the year 1738 and lasted until 1758. The church was built as a block two-story building with the so-called lower and upper churches, which were unusual at the time. He stood far behind the city walls in the woods and was one of the first major hills of the Slovak Rudohoria in the vicinity. There were two pilgrimages a year, on May 3 and September 14. Today, the Calvary belongs to a built-up family area. Spiritual administration is provided by the Salesians.

In Malá Vieska, a church was built in 1433, which was consecrated to the Birth of the Virgin Mary. This church got more into the attention of the faithful when in 1773 a copy of the miraculous Póčska ikon was placed inside. This painting became a gradually sought-after place of Marian pilgrims from around the world. In the 19th century, the old church was not enough for the faithful, so the patron of the town Košice built a new church in 1803. The new church was built on a hill near the forest, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and indulgences were given on the birth of the Virgin Mary. Great spiritual uplift of the pilgrimage site in Malá Vieska took place on October 29, 1831, when Pope Gregory XVI gave the pilgrims, who journeyed to the merciful image of the Virgin Mary in Malá Vieska plenary indulgences.

 

The existence of a pilgrimage place in Obišovce is connected with many legends and theories. According to one legend, the image of Our Lady came to Obišovce in a special way from Tarnow, Poland. Allegedly, the angels brought the image and hanged it on a tree, where a church was built to commemorate this event. Another legend says that the picture is a copy of the crying Madonna in Klokočov. Historical evidence shows that the Marian reverence began to spread in Obišovce under the influence of the Prešov Franciscans safely after 1769, when the church acquired the Marian patronage. The increase of this devotion and the slow establishment of the pilgrimage site probably occurred sometime after 1774.

The Calvary in Prešov is one of the most beautiful sights of its kind in Slovakia. The Calvary’s beginnings date back to the positioning of the stone cross in 1721. The Society of the Dying Christ, founded by the Jesuits and led by Fr. Karol Jankovich, took up the idea of building the Calvary. Already on September 14, 1721, the Jesuit Fr. Pavol Szamaróczi consecrated the first chapel of Jesus on the Olive Mountain. The main stone of the dominant Calvary Church - a three-story baroque church of the Holy Cross - was laid on May 3, 1752. The church was completed in the year 1753 and consecrated after the completion of the entire Calvary complex on the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross on September 14, 1769.

V Stropkove si veriaci uctievajú milostivý obraz Panny Márie Karmelskej, ktorý je z roku 1754. Bratstvo sv. škapuliara tu bolo už v r. 1669, takže patrí medzi najstaršie na území terajšieho Slovenska. Zásluhy na uvedení bratstva do Stropkova má tamojší zemepán Žigmund Pethő, ktorý v spolupráci s generálom Bosých karmelitánov P. Filipom sa pričinil o zriadenie Bratstva Panny Márie Karmelskej pri farskom kostole. Pápež Klement IX bulou zo dňa 11.mája 1669 potvrdil toto bratstvo a opatril ho aj potrebnými odpustkami. V kánonickej vizitácii farnosti z r. 1773 sa píše o konaní odpustovej slávnosti v Stropkove z príležitosti sviatku Panny Márie Karmelskej, kde sa každý rok zhromažďujú veľké zástupy pútnikov, ktorí sem prichádzajú z celej Zemplínskej stolice, zo Šariša a tiež aj z Poľska.

It is certain that in 1764 there was the fraternity of Our Lady of Carmel in Veľký Šariš. In the first phase of its existence - in the 18th century - the main pilgrimage took place on the feast day of Our Lady of Carmel, on July 16. In 1831, at the request of the parish priest, it was transferred to the next Sunday after the feast day. It seems that the greatest pilgrimages to the Virgin Mary of Carmel in Veľký Šariš occurred at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when not only the parish church was internally renovated, but also religious life was renewed. A new impulse to deepen the devotion to the Virgin Mary of Carmel in Veľký Šariš occurred after 1990. Since then, the diocesan or the auxiliary bishops have been traditionally attending these pilgrimages.

 

The first information about the existence of the parish in Vranov nad Topľou is linked to the year 1314. The title of its first local church is connected with the name of St. John the Baptist, and later St. Stephen. However, at that time, the parish church was not yet a pilgrimage site. It did not belong to the Pauline church either, when they took it from the Reformed evangelicals in 1676. It became a pilgrimage site in 1708, when a picture of the Tearing Virgin Mary was brought and placed inside. From September 8, 1708, the church was renamed the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Since that day, this church has become a sought-after Marian pilgrimage site. Since then, every year on this feast day, on September 8, there have been many believers coming to this celebration. On June 19, 2008 (300 years later), the church was promoted to the title - Basilica Minor, which was solemnly proclaimed and celebrated on September 6, 2008.