National pilgrimage to Velehrad draws around 30,000 visitors

Around 30,000 people from Czechia and abroad attended this year’s national pilgrimage in Velehrad, eastern Moravia, on July 5. The event coincides with the Czech national holiday honouring Saints Cyril and Methodius. A mass held in front of the basilica was the spiritual highlight of the two-day celebration. According to organisers, about 20,000 people had already arrived for the Friday programme known as the Days of People of Good Will. The event also included concerts, charity presentations, and a symbolic hand-copying of the Bible. The 26th edition commemorated the upcoming Holy Year 2025 and the anti-communist pilgrimage of 1985.