Mariapocs

In 1696 the icon of the Virgin in the wooden church at Pocs was reported to be weeping, and it wept repeatedly over several weeks in front of enough witnesses that the case was investigated and the emperor had the panel taken to Vienna, where it remains in St Stephen's cathedral. A copy sent back to the village then wept in 1715 and again in 1905. Around it grew the main Greek Catholic pilgrimage site in Hungary: a Baroque basilica finished in the eighteenth century with a carved and gilded iconostasis, a large open square for the crowds that come at the summer feasts, and a monastery. Services are in the Byzantine rite, sung, and the pilgrimages draw tens of thousands.

History

The name Pócs comes from the Hungarian name Pál, Paul, and the prefix Mária was added in the 18th century for the shrine of the Virgin in the village. The icon in the Greek Catholic church, which has wept twice, is an 18th-century copy; the original, which wept once, is in Vienna (Wikipedia, Máriapócs).

What you'll find

• The weeping icon copy - the panel reported to have wept in 1715 and 1905.
• The carved iconostasis - the gilded screen of the Byzantine rite church.
• The pilgrimage square - the open ground built for the summer crowds.
• Sung Byzantine liturgy - the rite as it is celebrated here.

When to go

April to October; the main pilgrimages fall in the summer and fill the village entirely. One to two hours outside those dates. Services take precedence over visiting.

Good to know

The original icon is in Vienna, not here, which disappoints people who did not know. Pilgrimage days make quiet visiting impossible. The village is small with limited services. It is a devotional site first.

Nearby

Nyirbator is south-east; Nyiregyhaza lies north-west.