The traditional pilgrimage of Sinti and Roma to Mariazell in Austria.
- Roma-Wallfahrt nach Mariazell. In: BVZ. 24.08.2025. https://www.bvz.at/oberwart/erinnerung-und-hoffnung-29-roma-wallfahrt-nach-mariazell-486914675
Austria: Pilgrimage
Tag Archives: Religion
A good story?
Martin Halík, a successful IT worker, left all behind an moved to a Roma settlement in Gemer. He does concrete help, charity, but also is a priest and as such also preaches.
Nice intentions, one needs to understand more.
- Martin opustil úspešnú kariéru v IT a v osade na Gemeri mení životy: „Učili ma, že Rómom sa mám vyhýbať“. In: Staritup. 27.07.2025. https://www.startitup.sk/martin-opustil-uspesnu-karieru-v-it-a-v-osade-na-gemeri-meni-zivoty-ucili-ma-ze-romom-sa-mam-vyhybat/4/
Saint Bibija
St. George’s Day is just the time when Erdelezi is celebrated, the Spring Festival, important for Roma of all European traditional religions. However, many will proudly say that they celebrate Aunt Bibija (Bibi means aunt), a saint who is not canonized in the Serbian Orthodox Church, but who is very important for Roma. Families celebrating Aunt Bibija are most often blessed by an Orthodox priest. A small chapel on Gospodara Vučića Street in Belgrade is dedicated to this saint.
- Znate li ko je čudotvorna tetkica Bibija i zašto se njen kult neguje u srcu Vračara. In: Naslovi. 23.07.2025. https://naslovi.net/2025-07-23/telegraf/znate-li-ko-je-cudotvorna-tetkica-bibija-i-zasto-se-njen-kult-neguje-u-srcu-vracara/40114217
Religion and School
Bulgaria introduced a mandatory religion subject with two options “Orthodoxy” and “Islam”. According to the Centre for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance “Amalipe” (a Roma organisation), this may cause tension in ethnically mixed areas and deepen educational segregation. Additional tension may also arise in communities that follow forms of Christianity other than Orthodoxy and Islam other than Orthodoxy, for example, various Protestant denominations, Catholicism.
- Позиция: Обучението по религия ще доведе до напрежение в етническите райони. In: U4V Plovdiv. 27.06.2025. https://u4avplovdiv.com/позиция-обучението-по-религия-ще-дове
Bulgaria, Politics, Religion, and Elections
In this article, a “Gypsy” pastor agitates his people from the Druzhba district to vote in the by-elections for Yasen Rusev the PP-DB mayoral candidate. Marin Tikhomirov became famous after a pre-election event in the “Filipovtsi” district, to which he personally invited several politicians.
- Цигански пастор агитира “неговите хора” от кв. “Дружба” да гласуват на частичните избори за кандидата за кмет на ПП-ДБ. In: Tribune. 23.06.2025. https://tribune.bg/bg/obshtini/tsiganski-pastor-agitira-negov/
The Church and Roma
The German Catholic Foundation Renovabis and the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia (KBS) announced that in 2025 they will also financially support the development of Roma pastoral centers and Catholic Roma missions through the Capacity Building for Roma Pastoral Work and Its Sustainability program and its Small Projects Fund.
The aim of this joint initiative, which began in 2015, is to strengthen the spiritual service, social inclusion and human development of Roma in Slovakia in accordance with the Christian values of solidarity, respect and integration.
Well, in terms of combatting racism and exclusion, the catholic church, and the Slovak one in aprticular, haven’t got a real track record…
- Renovabis s KBS podporia rozvoj centier pastorácie Rómov a rómskych misií. In: TKKBS. 27.05.2025. https://www.tkkbs.sk/view.php?cisloclanku=20250527011
Saintes Maries de la Mer
The yearly pilgrimage of Saintes Maries de la Mer has started.
- Doroczna pielgrzymka Romów do Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer we Francji. In: Wszystoco Najwazniejsze. 24.05.2025. https://wszystkoconajwazniejsze.pl/pepites/doroczna-pielgrzymka-romow-do-saintes-maries-de-la-mer-we-francji/
- 24-25 mai : le pèlerinage des Gitans aux Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer. In: Biblio Monde. 23.05.2025. https://www.bibliomonde.fr/lalmanach/25-mai-le-pelerinage-des-gitans-aux-saintes-marie-de-la-mer
- Des milliers de personnes attendues pour le pèlerinage gitan des Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer du 24 au 26 mai. iN: La Provence. 22.05.2025. https://www.laprovence.com/article/societe/2211083623168314/des-milliers-de-personnes-attendues-pour-le-pelerinage-gitan-des-saintes-maries-de-la-mer-du-24-au-26-mai
International Catholic Commission for the Roma
The annual meeting of the International Catholic Commission for the Roma (CCIT) took place in eastern Slovakia in recent days, attracting approximately 100 participants from 14 European countries. Slovakia was represented by more than 20 participants from cities and municipalities.
- Nádej, ktorá spája. Slovensko hostilo Medzinárodnú katolícku komisiu pre Rómov. In: Tlačová Kancelaria. 02.05.2025. https://www.tkkbs.sk/view.php?cisloclanku=20250502011
Slovenia: Book
In the Miran Jarca Library in Novo Mesto, Matic Vidic recently presented his book Guide to Meaning: Journeys of a Proven Logotherapist.
Matic chose to study theology and philosophy because he was already struggling with difficult life trials as a teenager. With the death of his mother and his father’s alcoholism, he began to wonder at an early age what the meaning of life was. Today, he is a permanent deacon of the Novo Mesto diocese, does pioneering work in Roma pastoral care and the integration of Roma into society, is an attentive husband to his wife Petra and a father to four-year-old Izak. Some of his stories in the book are powerful, others sad, but with each one he wanted to light the light for the reader that gave meaning to his life.
- Matic Vidic s svojo knjigo Smernik za smisel: popotnice preizkušanega logoterapevta. In: Doljenski List. 04.05.2025. https://dolenjskilist.svet24.si/druzabno/matic-s-svojo-knjigo-1815573#google_vignette
Pastoral Care
Peter Bešenyei is a Roman Catholic priest who dedicated himself to the pastoral care of the Roma in eastern Slovakia for over thirty years. In that he is an exception in the Catholic clergy. He lived for several years in the Luník IX housing estate. like the other residents in an apartment without water and electricity.
- Pastorácia Rómov. In: Radio Slovensko. 27.04.2025. https://slovensko.stvr.sk/clanky/duchovno/400165/pastoracia-romov
Pope Francis
Residents of the Košice housing estate of Luník IX still remember the pope’s visit there.
“Dear brothers and sisters, too often you have been the subject of prejudice and merciless judgments, discriminatory stereotypes, derogatory words and gestures. Thanks to this, we have all become poorer. Poorer in humanity,” with these words Pope Francis addressed the Roma in the Luník IX housing estate. The news of his death also affected the local community.
- Obyvatelia Luníka IX spomínajú na návštevu pápeža Františka dodnes. Jeho smrť zasiahla aj rómsku komunitu. In: STVR. 22.04.2025. https://spravy.stvr.sk/2025/04/obyvatelia-lunika-ix-spominaju-na-navstevu-papeza-frantiska-dodnes-jeho-smrt-zasiahla-aj-romsku-komunitu/
Rom Pope
The first Romano orthodox priest was recently ordained in Romania. His name is Daniel Ganga. This means progress, as the Orthodox Church held Roma slaves till the late 19th century and very recently denied having had anything to do with the slavery of Roma.
- Daniel Ganga, prvi romski duhovnik v Romuniji. In: RTV Slovenia. 19.02.2025. https://val202.rtvslo.si/podkast/evropa-osebno/2948287/175110569
A Roma Mission in a Settlement
The story of a Czech man, who founded the Christian Roma Mission in a Roma settlement in Slovakia. Success and difficulties.
- Všetci Rómovia z osady vďaka nemu chodia do práce, deti vedia čítať. Ítečkár Martin mení na Gemeri životy. In: Dobre Noviny. 02.11.2024. https://www.dobrenoviny.sk/c/219497/vsetci-romovia-z-osady-vdaka-nemu-chodia-do-prace-deti-vedia-citat-iteckar-martin-meni-na-gemeri-zivoty/2
Portugal: Integration through Evangelism
A small town in Portugal is trying evangelism tto integrate Roma there. This is dangerous, as evangelism has a tendency to erase traditions.
- Pour faciliter l’inclusion des Roms, une association portugaise mise sur l’évangélisme. In: Slate. https://www.slate.fr/monde/268125/portugal-roms-communaute-inclusion-egalite-pari-association-fundao-culte-evangeliste
Slovakia: Pilgrimage
Thousands of believers, mostly from eastern Slovakia, took part in the traditional Roma pilgrimage in Gaboltov in the Bardejov district on Sunday.
- Čo sa na mieste dialo? OBROVSKÁ udalosť na východe, prišlo vyše 5-tisíc rómov! In: Dnes 24. 05.08.2024. https://presov.dnes24.sk/co-sa-na-mieste-dialo-obrovska-udalost-na-vychode-prislo-vyse-5-tisic-romov-451981
The Church and Roma
The working group for Roma of the Ecumenical Council of Churches has published a letter in which it calls on the church community to be more open to Roma believers. “In practice, it is not the case that a Roma comes to a Christian community, where they throw him out ‘by the collar’, saying that he has no business there. But they will let him know that he is not desirable, often behind closed doors,” explains one of the initiators of the challenge, evangelical pastor Mikuláš Vymětal.
- Skoro v každé církvi je někdo, komu říkám rasistická babička, myslí si spoluautor výzvy o Romech. In: Rozhlas. 28.07.2024. https://plus.rozhlas.cz/skoro-v-kazde-cirkvi-je-nekdo-komu-rikam-rasisticka-babicka-mysli-si-spoluautor-9282221
- Romové v kostele vítáni! O větší otevřenosti místních církví, sborů a farností s faráři Mikulášem Vymětalem a Erikou Oubrechtovou. In: Wave Rozhals. 28.07.2024. https://wave.rozhlas.cz/romove-v-kostele-vitani-o-vetsi-otevrenosti-mistnich-cirkvi-sboru-a-farnosti-s-9281846
Czechia: Pilgrimage
Svátý Kopeček revived the traditional June Roma pilgrimage again this year, bringing together participants from different communities and places. The event connected faith with traditional Roma culture.
- Romská pouť na Svatém Kopečku spojila kulturu, víru i společenství. In: Charita Olomouc. 20.06.2024. https://www.olomouc.charita.cz/aktuality/romska-pout-2024/
Slovenia: Missionary
Another article and interview with the by now popular catholic military pastoral assistant who works with Roma in Slovenia.
- DL: Matic Vidic – Misijonar med dolenjskimi Romi. In: Svet 24. 01.01.2024. https://lokalno.svet24.si/2024/01/01/283796/aktualno/dl_matic_vidic___misijonar_med_dolenjskimi_romi/
Bible in Romanes
The world’s first complete Bible in the Romani Carpathian dialect was presented on Sunday in Sabinov, Slovakia. Dozens of people worked on the translation for a total of 15 years. TASR was informed about this by Patrik Sýkora from The Word For The World organization.
- V Sabinove predstavili prvú Bibliu v rómskom karpatskom dialekte. In: Teraz. 10.12.2023. https://www.teraz.sk/regiony/v-sabinove-predstavili-prvu-bibliu-v-r/760385-clanok.html
Slovenia and a Missionary
An interview with Matic Vidic who is employed by the Slovenian Army where he takes care of spiritual care in the Novo mesto and Cerklje ob Krka barracks. He is a permanent deacon in the diocese of Novo mesto, and he teaches religious education to children. He also does pastoral work with Roma and wants to help Roma to improve their lives and to improve the bad relations between the local population and Roma.
- Romski misijonar Matic Vidic: ”Od rojstva tisti, ki smrdijo, kradejo in lažejo”. In: Svet2. 09.10.2023. https://lokalno.svet24.si/2023/10/09/280516/clanek/romski_misijonar_matic_vidic_oni_so_od_rojstva_tisti__ki_smrdijo__kradejo_in_lazejo__to_je_njihov_logo/
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