{"id":584198,"date":"2026-08-14T13:30:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=584198"},"modified":"2026-08-14T13:30:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:30:54","slug":"patriarch-daniel-reliquary-st-maria-brancoveanu-sons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/patriarch-daniel-reliquary-st-maria-brancoveanu-sons\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriarch Daniel blesses reliquary holding relics of St Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu and her sons"},"content":{"rendered":"

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel blessed the reliquary on Thursday, which holds the relics of Saint Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu and her sons, Stephen and Matthew.<\/b><\/p>\n

The blessing service was officiated in the historic Chapel of \u201cSaint George the Trophy-bearer\u201d at the Patriarchal Residence.<\/p>\n

An icon of Romanian dignity and spirituality<\/h2>\n

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel highlighted that Saint Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu is one of the most beautiful icons of Romanian dignity and of spirituality.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a faithful wife and a devout, pious, highly responsible and self-sacrificing mother in giving birth to, raising and providing a Christian education for her children. She had four sons and seven daughters, and was therefore a mother who gave birth to 11 children.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe Holy Princess Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu was not only hardworking and wise, but also extremely generous. She learnt to be temperate and merciful, and very often, with great discretion, performed many acts of charity and helped many people who were in need,\u201d His Beatitude added.<\/p>\n

The Patriarch also said that Saint Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu was a devout Christian who demonstrated her love for God and the Church by founding places of worship.<\/p>\n

In addition to the churches she founded in Romania, \u201cshe helped many churches on Mount Athos, in Alexandria and Jerusalem, in those places where Christians were under Ottoman rule\u201d.<\/p>\n

An example of martyr-like endurance<\/h2>\n

The Patriarch of Romania stressed that Saint Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu is an example of martyr-like endurance: passing through suffering without losing hope and enduring hardship without falling into despair.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe suffered greatly and experienced the martyrdom of her husband and sons as a heavy cross, but with hope in God\u2019s help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the final part of her life, she withdrew to Surpatele Monastery, and from there she would often go to pray before the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God at Dintr-un Lemn Monastery. The route, which she sometimes travelled at night carrying oil lamps, became known as the Lady\u2019s Road or the Road of Tears.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Local proclamation of canonisation<\/h2>\n

Saint Maria Br\u00e2ncoveanu was canonised last year, alongside 15 other Romanian holy women. The local proclamation of her canonisation will be held on Sunday at the New Saint George Church in Bucharest.<\/p>\n

When Saint Maria\u2019s relics were exhumed, the relics of her sons, Stephen and Matthew, were also discovered. They were canonised in 1992, together with Saint Constantine Br\u00e2ncoveanu, their other brothers, and the family\u2019s adviser, Ianache.<\/p>\n

Father Emil Nedelea C\u0103r\u0103mizaru, the parish priest, who attended the blessing of the reliquary, said that \u201cthis is a moment of emotion and spiritual joy for our parish community at kilometre zero\u201d.<\/p>\n

The New Saint George Parish in Bucharest commissioned the reliquary, which will hold the holy relics, and the Romanian Patriarchate\u2019s workshops made it.<\/p>\n