Archbishop Ioan Robu presiding the Easter Vigil mass in Bucharest’s Saint Joseph Cathedral on Saturday night.
Catholics and Protestants celebrated Easter last Sunday, while Orthodox celebrated Palm Sunday. According to the 2002 census, Romania has over one million Roman-Catholics (approximately 4.5 per cent of the population at that time). In Bucharest, Roman-Catholics celebrated Easter in Bucharest’s Saint Joseph Cathedral on Saturday night, Archbishop Ioan Robu presiding at the Easter Vigil mass. At the end of the Holy Mass, around 1 AM, the believers, priests and His Holiness Ioan Robu chanted “Christ has risen,” walking in a procession around the cathedral, holding candle lights. On Sunday, His Holiness Ioan Robu presided at the Holy Mass in Miercurea Ciuc, where traffic was blocked for one and a half hours when the city’s 7,000 inhabitants gathered to attend Mass. 85 per cent of Harghita County’s population is Catholic, Protestant and Unitarian. On Sunday, Orthodox Christians celebrated Palm Sunday, the most important holiday that precedes Easter, a holiday that marks the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem when people welcomed him with palm leaves. It was also the name day of all whose names derive from the names of flowers. Palm Sunday opens the most important week for Easter preparations, known as Holy Week. On Saturday, over 5,000 believers and 600 priests took part in the Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, an event organized for the fifth consecutive year. The procession started at the Radu Voda Monastery and ended at the Patriarchal Cathedral where pilgrims were welcomed by Patriarch Daniel. On Sunday, President Basescu extended his best wishes to Roman-Catholics, Evangelicals and Protestant believers in Romania, as well as to the Romanians celebrating their name day.
Prince Harry spends Easter in Romania
Prince Harry, the youngest son of Prince Charles, spent his Easter in Romania where he arrived last Friday. Harry visited the Viscri, Miclosoara and Valea Zalanului villages in Transylvania. Local sources stated for Mediafax that Prince Harry is on a private visit and is staying at Count Kalnoky Tibor’s mansion in Miclosoara, a mansion that Prince Charles visited several times. According to Mediafax, Prince Harry spent the night of Sunday to Monday in Valea Zalanului village in Covasna County, where his father owns several properties. On Monday he traveled around the area on an enduro motorcycle. According to realitatea.net, the prince took a low-cost flight to Romania, landing at Targu Mures. Prince Charles owns several properties in Romania, including a house in Viscri village, Brasov County.
