The educational project 75 years since the banning of the Greek-Catholic Church was held at the Sighet Memorial on Thursday 26 October. Pupils from Dragoș-Vodă and Regele Ferdinand upper secondary schools attended the event.
The commemoration began with a guided tour of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and continued in the conference room of the museum.
Dr. Andrea Dobeș gave a summary of the historical circumstances leading to the arrest of Greek Catholic bishops and priests in late October 1948, as well as the subsequent banning of the Greek Catholic Church on 1 December 1948.
10th, 11th and 12th graders from Dragoș-Vodă, and Regele Ferdinand upper secondary schools, under the guidance of their teachers Claudia Dura and Ileana Sauliuc Zapca, respectively, presented the biographies of several bishops and priests who were arrested and incarcerated for their unwavering commitment to their faith.
The team from Dragoș-Vodă Upper Secondary School comprised Flaviu Botiș, Izabela Bucur, Denisa Bizău, Cristina Coman, Alina Tivadar, Florin Mârza, Alexandra Țiplea, and Gabriela Pașca.
The team from Regele Ferdinand Upper Secondary School included Sarah-Nicola Joicaliuc, Romina-Daniela Sidău, Adina-Daniela Stan, Raluca Copa, Alexandra Țudic, and Alessia Hreniuc.
At the conclusion of the event, the pupils took a short test related to the project’s theme. The first three participants who correctly answered all 12 questions were awarded prizes. The winners were as follows: 1st place – Blanca Brânzeniuc; 2nd place – Elisabeth Mirjam Szekely; 3rd place – Raul Cinar. They each received a copy of the testimonial book Prețul credinței. Preoți greco-catolici înfruntând prigoana comunistă (The Price of Faith. Greek Catholic priests braving communist persecution), published by the Civic Academy Foundation.
