Cardinal Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague and President of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, and Jan Graubner, Archbishop of Olomouc and President of the National Committee for the Preparation of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Jubilee, will open the “Jubilee Year of Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in Rome on May 25, 2012.
Rome: The solemnity will take place on May 25–26, 2012 in the basilica of Saint Mary Major, where the Slavonic liturgy of brothers Cyril and Methodius was approved and authorized, and in the basilica of St. Clement, where St. Cyril is buried. Scheduled are a solemn mass and a concert by the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra from Zlín and the Hradišťan Band of Jiří Pavlica – the concert will be held in the basilica of Saint Mary Major as well. Participants will also visit the tomb of Cardinal Josef Beran and will be received in audience by Pope Benedict XVI.
The “Jubilee Year of Ss. Cyril and Methodius,” to be opened in May, will culminate in 2013 in the place of pilgrimage Velehrad, during the celebrations of the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Ss. Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia.
Participating in the project is the Zlín Region. Its representatives will take part in the solemn opening of the jubilee year in Rome together with representatives of the Czech government, headed by the Prime Minister Petr Nečas.
The Pilgrimage Centre of the Diocese of Hradec Králové together with Christian travel agencies of the Czech Republic is organizing a pilgrimage by plane on May 23–27 as well as several pilgrimage travels by buses. All tours include the celebration of the Pentecost in Rome as well.