As the cruise part of the pilgrimage came to an end, it felt as though we were tourists and not pilgrims. In Bratislava, we had Mass at St. Martin's Cathedral.
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| St. Martin's History dates back to 1204; 19 coronations took place here |
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| Pope John Paul II visited the Cathedral in 1995 |
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| The Pulpit |
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| On the panels of the Main Altar are the 6 patron saints of Bratislava: Sts. George, Elizabeth, Adalbert, Nicholas, Catherine of Alexandria, and Florian |
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| The main organ was built in 2010 |
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| This Baroque statue of St. Martin (Georg R. Donner) is all that remains of the Baroque and Renaissance periods of this church |
During an uneventful walking tour of the city, we walked around the Castle where St. Elizabeth of Hungary is believed to have been born. Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio gave a brief talk on St. Elizabeth as we stood in front of her statue. Having been to Wartburg Castle in Germany, where St. Elizabeth lived, I've been fascinated by her. It's not quite a devotion...yet. The views of the castle, which is located on a hill, are very pretty.
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| St. Martin's Cathedral from the Castle |
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| Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosia introducing us to St. Elizabeth and the significance of Bratislava |
One of the most incredible places we celebrated Mass wasn't in a church, cathedral, or basilica...it was on board the ship as we sailed between Bratislava and Budapest. The countryside was gorgeous with the fall colors. What an amazing way to praise God and give thanks to all He has done!
Upon arriving into Budapest, we were given a tour of what we were seeing as we pulled into the city. Thankfully, we didn't have a walking tour but rather a bus tour of Buda and Pest. After walking us to St. Stephen's Basilica, we had free time. St. Stephen's was spectacular.
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| St. Stephen's was consecrated in 1905 with Franz Josef I being in attendance at the laying of the cornerstone in 1906 |
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| Assumption Altar |
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| Holy Cross Altar |
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| Altar of St. Cecilia |
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| The dome collapsed following the death of the architect. |
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| The right hand of St. Stephen was severed when his body was moved from the sarcophagus in the middle of the Basilica to a tomb under the building. |
A night cruise around Budapest was the perfect end to our pilgrimage cruise. The sights were unbelievable.
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| Buda Castle |
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| St. Gellért's Hill: St. Gerard Sagredo was instrumental in the Christianization of Hungary in the 11th century |
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| Hungarian Parliament Building |
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| Inner City Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
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| St. Matthias Church |
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| The Calvinist Church |
Out of the two cities, Budapest is the one I would like to return to as a tourist. We spent most of our time on the Pest side and apparently the Buda side is not to be missed.
This was the end of the pilgrimage for some of my fellow pilgrims, but I chose to continue on for the 3-day Krakow extension, and I'm glad I did. Some amazing things happened!
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