Balgarianovinite.com The Chair of the National Assembly, Mihaela Dotsova, and the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation she led were received by Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on the occasion of May 24, the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture, and of Slavic Literature, the parliament’s press service reported on Friday.
“We had an extremely cordial and very honest meeting, which lasted longer than usual,” Dotsova told journalists after a conversation with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
“Pope Leo XIV shared that he expects Bulgaria, as a country located at a crossroad, to be one of the creators of bridges for peace, and he sent his blessing to the entire Bulgarian people,” Dotsova said and added that she had extended an invitation to the Pope. In response, he promised to do everything possible to continue the tradition, which has already been established by previous heads of the Roman Catholic Church, to visit Bulgaria in order to send a blessing on the spot and his wishes for peace and cordiality.
Dotsova presented Pope Leo XIV with an icon of Saint John of Rila, the founder of the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian delegation also donated a hand-woven Chiprovtsi carpet. In the 16th-17th centuries, Chiprovtsi became one of the most important centres of Bulgarian Catholicism. The world-famous masterfully woven carpets from the picturesque town in the Balkan mountain range are a symbol of the deep historical and spiritual connection between Bulgaria and the Holy See, the parliament’s press service said in a statement.
Pope Leo XIV presented the National Assembly Speaker with a plaque depicting children praying for peace around the world, as well as an album about the Vatican.
The delegation later paid tribute at the tomb of St Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher in the crypt of the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome. Dotsova also thanked Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican and Rome for honouring the memory and work of St Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher and his brother St Methodius. She added that the significance of the brothers’ work is especially strongly felt in Rome, where Pope Adrian II consecrated liturgical books in Old Bulgarian in early 868 and recognized the language as liturgical.
The delegation also paid their respects at the memorial plaque dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary the Great in Rome. Dotsova laid flowers before Salus Populi Romani and paid her respects at the tomb of Pope Francis.
The visit to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary the Great marked the end of the Bulgarian delegation’s two-day visit to Rome and the Vatican.
The brothers Constantine (Cyril) (827-869) and Methodius (826-885), Byzantine missionaries born in Salonica, devised the Slavonic alphabet in AD 855 or 862 (this was actually the Glagolitic; the Cyrillic, on which the modern Slav nations’ alphabets are based, came 40-50 years later, c. AD 902-912). Using this new script, they and their disciples translated into Slavonic the essential liturgical books: the Gospel, Epistles, Psalter and collected services.
The Slav alphabet was adopted in Bulgaria in AD 886 as a vehicle of enforcing Old Bulgarian as the single national and liturgical language. From Bulgaria, the script spread to other Slav countries and is now used by some 250 million people worldwide in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Croatia.
The two brothers were summoned to Rome by Pope Hadrian II, who approved the Slavonic liturgical books and ordered them to be solemnly placed on the altar in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Cyril died during that journey on February 14, 869, and was buried at San Clemente.
Sts Cyril and Methodius are venerated as Equal-to-the-Apostles, First Teachers and Enlighteners of the Slavs by both the Eastern and the Western church.
By his Apostolic Letter Industriae Tuae, issued in AD June 880, Pope John VIII approved the Slavic letters devised by Constantine the Philosopher as means by which God may be truly praised and ordained that “it is not in any way against the true faith and teaching to chant the Liturgy, to read the Holy Gospel and other Sacred Lessons, or to chant canonical (liturgical) services in the Slavonic language, provided they are well translated and interpreted.”
On December 31, 1980, by his Apostolic Letter Egregiae Virtutis, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Sts Cyril and Methodius Heavenly Co-Patrons of Europe together with St Benedict (who had been proclaimed the Patron Saint of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964). In Commemoration of the Eleventh Centenary of the Evangelizing Work of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Pope John Paul II also issued an express encyclical, entitled Slavorum Apostoli, on June 2, 1985. Bulgarian Delegation Led by Parliament Chair Dotsova Received by Pope Leo XIV 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-22 10:02:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law