"Pope Francis is well aware of the Hungarian government's efforts to support families," said Hungary's ambassador to the Vatican.Continue reading
Pope Francis will visit Hungary from April 28-30 as part of an Apostolic Journey, announced the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni. The Holy Father will participate in several events in the Hungarian capital, including attending meetings with the country’s leaders and representatives of the academic and cultural circles.
There had already been rumors in recent days that the Pope would arrive in Hungary sometime in the spring, and this was confirmed on Monday when details of the visit were released. According to a Vatican News report, Pope Francis will meet refugees, poor people, and children during his visit to Hungary. He will also meet with representatives of civil society, diplomatic corps, church leaders, and representatives of the cultural and academic world.
The Head of the Catholic Church will arrive in Hungary on the morning of April 28, and he will be received with a welcome ceremony in front of the Sándor Palace, after which he will meet with Hungarian President Katalin Novák.
Pope Francis will then meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the Carmelite Monastery, and later on he will meet with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps there as well.
On the following day, April 29, he will visit children at the Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann Institute and meet poor people and refugees at the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church. After that, he will meet with young people at the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna where he will also make an address.
On April 30, the Pope will hold a holy mass in front of Parliament in Kossuth Lajos Square at 9:30 a.m.,
and in the afternoon he will meet with representatives of the academic and cultural world at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. He will then return to Rome from the Hungarian capital in the evening.
The arrival of the Holy Father is eagerly awaited by everyone in Hungary. The last time Pope Francis visited Hungary was in 2021, when he arrived for the 52nd Eucharistic Congress.
Hungarian President Katalin Novák wrote on her Facebook page that she was pleased to be informed that Pope Francis has officially accepted her invitation to visit Hungary once again.
Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom and Budapest, was also delighted to learn of the visit and expressed his particular pleasure that the venue for the meetings with the Pope will be in Budapest. He added: “We welcome with warmth the priests and the faithful, pilgrims, from Hungary and beyond the borders.”
The Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s permanent council said in a statement that Pope Francis’ visit to Hungary is a very important event not only for Catholics, but for all Hungarians, both within and beyond the borders. “With a prayerful spirit, let us prepare ourselves to meet the Holy Father and together bear witness to the fact that Christ is our future,” the statement read.
Featured photo via Facebook/Zoltán Kovács
