Since the early hours of the morning, many preparations have been made in the nursing home. Residents strove to arrange themselves as beautifully and elegantly as possible. Some even went to the hairdresser especially for this event. Almost everyone dressed up in their most beautiful festive clothes. Through this they wanted to express their admiration for Mrs. Ica, a highly respected and beloved member of the community. Even her grandchildren returned home from abroad to participate at her birthday party along with the other residents and their caretakers.
Those present were greeted by Andrea Nagy, the coordinator of the nursing home, who recalled that Mrs. Ica has moved to St. Elizabeth's Home in 2017, on the recommendation of venerable Reformed pastor Attila Veres-Kovács, because Mrs. Ica's adult daughter suffered from an incurable illness and she wanted to know her mother was in a safe place, as Mrs. Ica even then was already very old. "We liked her from the first minute, as she was an openminded, always-smiling elder who wanted to get involved in every activity"– the home coordinator recalled. She added that in the years that followed, deep faith, affirmation of life and love for people and sunlight characterized Mrs. Ica's life in the home of Caritas. "She lives her life with dignity and a positive attitude. We could all learn a lot from her" – said Andrea Nagy.
The first guest of honor to speak was the Roman Catholic diocesan bishop László Böcskei, who has presented Mrs. Ica with a huge bouquet of flowers, and emphasized how much the gaze in their eyes says about the elders, which reflects the wisdom gained through experience, and the clear vision of the true values of human life, as well as their hands, which are not only instruments of hard work, but have also become giving hands, "they indicate that humans can be fair, that humans can be in the service of others with their diligence, that humans can open up and become receptive, accepting, and uplifting hands" – said the bishop.
On behalf of the prefect Dumitru Tiplea, a colleague from the Prefect's Chancellery, Mr. Cristian Stef, greeted Mrs. Ica with an imposing bouquet of roses. As he pointed out, the elderly are an important part of society and, for this reason, supporting them is a priority of the prefect's institution. The representative of the prefecture expressed his gratitude to the caregivers and expressed his support for the St. Elizabeth's Home administered by the Caritas Catolica Oradea Association.
After this, the spiritual leader of the Reformed residents of the nursing home, Mrs. Melinda Nacsádiné Csuka, spoke a few words. With her usual eloquence, she praised Mrs. Ica's deep faith and, to illustrate this, she also recounted a personal memory, according to which Mrs. Ica, when she could no longer physically go to the Reformed church in Liberty Square, where she had attended masses all her life, she developed a habit to collect her contribution to the church in a small box of matches and insisted that they be delivered in the donation box at every Sunday service.
The celebrated one hundred-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Dani Ica, thanked for the gifts by singing from her heart the reformed song " God Moves in a Mysterious Way", then she also thanked verbally all those who were present.
But the celebration did not end with this, Mrs. Ica's birthday grew into a full-day celebration. The speeches were followed by a festive meal, for which three confectioneries from Oradea, Sweet Mocca, Perla and Dorbob, offered products, sweetening the feast of the elderly, the highlight of the meal being the huge birthday cake. At the same time, violinist László Fodor, member of the State Philharmonic of Oradea, performed the song Happy Birthday, and then offered live music during lunch. Later, the elders sang along with the violin accompaniment.
After a short afternoon break, at 6 p.m. another party with live music was held, thanks to the musical band Attis, who are volunteers and old benefactors of the community of St. Elizabeth's Home. The ball was opened with Mrs. Ica's famous favorite song, followed by a joyful party, which was also attended by violinist László Fodor, who brought with him his little boy of only 2 years old. The presence of the child further brightened the mood of the elderly. A joint photo was taken with the little one and celebrated Mrs. Ica, which was a curiosity, since there was an age difference of about 98 years between the two people in the picture. The fun lasted until about 21.30 in the evening and was a special experience for the whole community.