Bucharest, October 14, 2020
Photo: doxologia.ro The Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates St. Parascheva the protectress of Moldova today. Although civil authorities limited the celebration of her feast this year due to the ongoing pandemic, not allowing anyone from outside Iași to come venerate her relics in the city’s cathedral, the Romanian faithful still know the joy of her prayerful protection and the countless miracles she has worked.
In a recent interview with Doxologia.ro, Romanian actor Florin Piersic, 84, spoke about how he was miraculously healed by St. Parascheva in his childhood, thanks to his mother’s fervent prayers.
The actor has always been close to the Church, he said. His uncle was a priest, and he grew up in an environment where the Church naturally found its place.
“I am very connected to the Church, to the priests,” Piersic said. He recalls spending every Nativity and Pascha in Cajvana in northeastern Romania where his uncle was the parish priest and his father’s best friend. He was always accepted to knock the toaca every year on the feast of Nativity, he recalls.
Piersic receiving the Holy Light in church in 2014. Photo: adevarul.ro
“I pray to the Mother of God; I adore her,” the actor said, adding that he has also had a pious devotion to St. Parascheva since she healed him in his childhood.
“I was very ill and my mother spent the whole night with her icon—which I have, I keep it all the time—to which my mother prayed, saying: “If you took Lucica from me, don’t take Florin!’”
Piersic has appeared in more than 40 movies, as well as television roles. He is especially known for his leading roles in The White Moor and the Seria Mărgelatu films. In 2006, he was voted 51st in a list of the 100 greatest Romanians, and in 2009, he was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Transylvania International Film Festival.
