Hundreds of residents of Bacau county have waited on Sunday, September 13, 2009, for His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel at the Ascension of the Lord Cathedral in Bacau. The Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church was welcomed at the gate of the Cathedral, which is still under construction, by over 100 priests and local officials. A thanksgiving service was celebrated in the basement of the holy place, attended by Most Rev. Teofan, Archbishop of Iasi and Metropolitan of Moldova and Bukovina, Most Rev. Nifon of Targoviste, Right Rev. Calinic of Arges and Muscel, Right Rev. Visarion of Tulcea, Right Rev. Ioachim, Auxiliary Bishop of Roman and Bacau, Right Rev. Andrei, Auxiliary Bishop of Sibiu.

After the service, Dragos Benea, the President of the County Council of Bacau, has offered His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel the title of honorary citizen of Bacau County, together with a symbolic gift, a miniature mountain of salt. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel addressed a sermon and offered the Ascension of the Lord Cathedral a blessing cross, a Holy Bible and other books.

The construction of the Ascension of the Lord Cathedral started after 1990. The building is one of the largest churches under construction in Eastern Europe.