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The dance celebrations at La Tirana are organized around the feast day of the Virgen del Carmen, July 16. But the full schedule, from July 10-19, has a number of other high points that make it so meaningful to those who make the pilgrimage there.

Couples in Ireland tend to marry late, and most agree that equality between women and men is a fundamental right.

The tradition of religious dance at La Tirana has both indigenous and Spanish roots. After the War of the Pacific, in the late 19th century, the feast at La Tirana became a feast for the Virgen del Carmen, the patroness of Chile.

Normally a town of fewer than 1,000 people, La Tirana fills with more than 200,000 people during the feast, which centers on the feast day of the Virgen del Carmen (July 16), but lasts from July 10-19.

The pilgrimage to Csíksomlyó for Pentecost is one of the largest annual gatherings of any kind in Romania, attracting 50,000 to 100,000 attendees each year.

Devotion to the Virgin Mary is a strong and everyday part of life in the Transylvanian Hungarian and Catholic community. Attendance at Mass is visibly larger on annual holidays dedicated to Mary, and pilgrimages and prayer circles honor her.

Annual calendrical rituals associated with Lent, Easter and Christmas often assume traditional complementary gender roles, but you will see women and men relate to each other in a very different manner in regular life.

Talking about miracles is most popular among volunteers with the new Transylvanian branch of the World Family of Radio Maria, a Catholic media network. The volunteer efforts by women who give their time to Radio Maria are making it more acceptable to tell stories about asking the Virgin Mary for help, but many Catholics in Romania still worry about what others will think if they speak about divine intercessions.

Two wedding traditions special to Romanian Catholics include friends of the groom building an arbor of pine poles and flowers to mark the groom's house, and a procession to call out the bride on the day of her wedding. Today's wedding couples prefer contemporary music, while older generations belt out traditional ballads.

Although Saint Anthony is popularly known for finding lost things, devotees say that he is particularly dedicated to helping mothers and children in danger. They show their devotion by traveling to the Csíksomlyó shrine every Tuesday evening from early April until late June, beginning the first week after Easter, for “Saint Anthony’s Large Novena.”