May 26, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Czech Prime Minister and the Cardinal of Prague paid a visit to the tomb of St. Cyril, who together with St. Methodius evangelized the Slavic countries. They are celebrating 1150th anniversary of when these saints arrived in the region then known as the Great Moravia, which is now modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria and Hungary.
 
Their meeting was held in one of the oldest and best preserved basilicas of Rome, the Basilica of Saint Clement.


CARD. DOMINIK DUKA
Archbishop of Prague (Czech Republic)
“It's a religious jubilee but also cultural and political because our culture, our State actually began during the mission of St. Cyril and Methodius.”

The monk Cyril and the bishop Methodius were brothers and the end of the ninth century brought Catholicism to the Slavic countries. They worked toward the translation of the Bible in the ancient empire of Great Moravia, and the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet. For their work, they have been named as the patrons of Europe.


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