SLOVAKIA Staré Hory

Staré Hory is a Marian pilgrimage site with a rich tradition. It is situated close to Banská Bystrica in Central Slovakia.What began as a small mining settlement is now an internationally recognised Marian pilgrimage site that welcomes thousands of pilgrims each year, not only from Slovakia. Both believers and non-believers have experienced spiritual awakenings and purification from sin by grace through the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the church in Staré Hory. Oral history suggests that people have been making pilgrimages to Staré Hory as long as the church and its statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been performing their work of grace. Pilgrims were already coming to Staré Hory in the 15th century. In 1990, the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Staré Hory was granted the title of basilica minor. Around 12 000 pilgrims attended a pontifical mass celebrated by Bishop Rudolf Baláž together with Bishop Emeritus Jozef Feranec and around 40 priests.