Catholics gather at Aglona

Take note – story published 5 years ago

Thousands of members of the Roman Catholic church have gathered and continue to arrive in Aglona, eastern Latvia, for an annual pilgrimage.

Some 1,300 pilgrims made their way there in the traditional manner by foot, with others opting to use more modern forms of transport.

The night of August 14 saw large attendance at a night-time prayer service which you can watch above (geoblocking may apply in some territories), with August 15 bringing events to a climax with more services and several top officials including Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis due to attend.

The next major date in the Aglona calendar will be a visit by Pope Francis on September 24, though anyone wishing to attend mass in person needs to register in advance at their local church or online. As previously reported by LSM, some 800,000 euros will be spent ahead of the one-day visit, part of a Baltic tour by the Pope.

Christianity was brought to Livonia by German crusaders in the 13th century.

Read more about Aglona and the pilgrimage tradition at the official Latvia travel website and more about tourism opportunities in the Aglona area is available at a dedicated website.

 

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