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Patriarch Daniel thanked on Friday, in a speech given at the National Cathedral, in the presence of Pope Francis, for the financial aid given by Pope John Paul II for the construction of the edifice.
"Twenty years ago, on 7-9 May, 1999, when Pope John Paul II visited Romania as a pilgrim, he called this country The Garden of the Mother of God. So today, we receive you a pilgrim in this new Cathedral, in which above the Shrine (the Sanctuary) there is the great icon in the mosaic of the Virgin Mary, called in Greek "Platytera", and in the Latin "Regina coeli." This icon of the National Cathedral in Bucharest symbolically confirms the name of the "Garden of the Mother of God" given to Romania. This Cathedral has as a spiritual protector the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we celebrate also the Romanian Heroes, as a national holiday," said Patriarch Daniel.
He added that this cathedral is "a Basilica dedicated to the Holy Apostle Andrew, the Apostle of the Romanian people and the Protector of Romania".
Patriarch Daniel also said that the Cathedral was built on a plot of land obtained from the Romanian state by Patriarch Teoctist "as an act of moral reparation for the five churches that existed in this area, three being demolished and two moved by the communist regime to build the People's House (Palace of Parliament, ed. n.)."
He referred to the fact that in the years of 1999 and 2002 Pope John Paul II offered financial aid to the Patriarch Teoctist for the construction of the Cathedral, amounting to 200,000 dollars.
