Catholic Shrines and Places of Interest in Slovakia

 

The Catholic Church in Slovakia:

Christianity arrived here early on, when Saints Cryril and Methodius (July 5th is a national holiday celebrating the arrival of the Christian missionaries’ arrival) with the message of Jesus Christ. It was a message that stuck, and Christianity has remained the dominant religion throughout the centuries. The nation of Slovakia, like many Eastern European countries, suffered from oppression during much of the 20th Century. It only became an independent country in 1993, when what was then Czechoslovakia became two separate countries (the actual name is the Slovak Republic) without any bloodshed.

The country has a rich Catholic history and the Faith has been kept alive for over 1200 years. With a population of only 5 million, it has half the number of people in the neighboring Czech Republic and was originally less developed as well. But that has changed somewhat and visitors have discovered this beautiful country–which can be good or bad depending upon your point of view.

 

Major sites of interest to Catholics in Slovakia:

Bratislava:  Saint Martin’s Cathedral, The Blue Church (Church of St. Elizabeth)

Levoca: Our Lady of Levoca & Marian Hill (Marianska Hora)

Levoca: Church of Saint Jacob (world’s largest wooden altar)

Sastin: Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows (Miraculous statue)