The Holy Spirit Church is a

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

church located in

Sajópálfala Sajópálfala is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia t ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. It is called Szentlélek-templom in Hungarian. The very first church was built in 1717. After the Turkish occupation and the

Rákóczi's War of Independence Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–11) was the first significant attempt to topple the rule of the Habsburgs over Hungary. The war was conducted by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákó ...

, Rusyn people settled down in the area, and the first church was built up by

Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...

, which they made out of wood. In 1777, a mysterious event was recognised by local people. In the devotional picture, in which

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

and the Child are painted, bloody tears were rolling down on Mary's face on the surface of the painting. This supernatural event is one of the

Marian apparation A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian ap ...

s. The painting was delivered to Eger, but in 1973, the original painting was transported back to Sajópálfala. Sajópálfala belongs to the destinations of The Way of Mary. It is a pilgrimage route, which connects

Marian shrines A shrine to the Virgin Mary (or Marian shrine) is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion. Such locales are often the destination ...

. Other sights can be visited near Sajópálfala, for example, in Sajóvámos,

Szirmabesenyő Szirmabesenyő ( sk, Bešeňovo) is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slov ...

, Miskolc,

Szikszó Szikszó is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, from county capital Miskolc. History Szikszó was first mentioned in documents in 1280. It belonged to the estate of the Aba clan. After 1370 Aba Estates in the area b ...

and Aszaló. The previous wooden church was demolished, and in 1779 a church was constructed which can be still admired in the present. It is 26 metres high, more than 7 metres wide, and the walls are between 70 and 140 centimetres thick built of stone. At the end of the 19th century, the tower of the church was constructed which is approximately 30 metres high. In 1933, the very detailed stained glass of the church was created. Today there are three bells inside the church. At the beginning of the 1800s, a bell was made which measures about 400 kilograms. 22 years later a bell of 200 kilograms was made and finally, in 1861, a bell of half the weight of the previous one was constructed. Although in the middle of the 20th century the bell of 200 kilograms had to be taken because of military purposes, it was later substituted with a new one.Papp Faber, Erika
"Our Mother's Tears: Ten Weeping Madonnas in Historic Hungary"
New Bedford. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Spirit Church (Sajopalfala) Hungarian Greek Catholic churches Churches completed in 1779 Catholic church buildings in Hungary