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The pope will visit Hungary at the end of April and meet Orban

2023-02-27T13:45:46.066Z


The Vatican announced on Monday the upcoming visit of the sovereign pontiff to Budapest, at the invitation of the Hungarian authorities.


Pope Francis will travel from April 28 to 30 to Budapest, capital of Hungary, where he will meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Vatican announced on Monday.

Accepting the invitation of civil and ecclesial authorities, His Holiness Pope Francis will make an apostolic journey to Hungary from April 28 to 30, 2023, visiting the city of Budapest,” the spokesperson for the Holy See announced in a statement

. , Matteo Bruni.

The Argentinian Jesuit will meet on April 28 Viktor Orban, a sovereigntist leader whose anti-migrant policy he does not share.

For his 41st international trip since his election in 2013, Jorge Bergoglio will also meet refugees, young people, members of the local Church and representatives of the cultural sector, according to the program released by the Vatican.

As usual during his travels, he will also address political and diplomatic authorities and preside over a mass.

Read alsoFaced with record inflation in Hungary, Orban extends the food price freeze

Previous trip to Budapest

The pope had already stopped in Budapest in September 2021 during a whirlwind seven-hour visit, which however did not have the value of a state visit.

On this occasion, he had already presided over a mass, met Viktor Orban and called on Hungarians to be "

open

" to everyone.

He had also met with representatives of various Christian denominations and the Jewish community.

A few months later, in April 2022, the head of the Church received Viktor Orban for the first time at the Vatican.

During this private audience, he had expressed to the Hungarian leader his gratitude for the protection that Hungary offers to refugees fleeing the war in neighboring Ukraine.

According to the latest statistics as of February 24, 34,248 Ukrainians have been granted refugee status in Hungary.

The two men have conceptions of religion at the antipodes: Viktor Orban, from a Calvinist background, brandishes his attachment to a "

Christian Europe

" to justify his anti-immigrant policy, while the sovereign pontiff gives a benevolent welcome a believer's duty.

François' commitment to refugees has often led to him being called a “

moron

” or “

a fool

” by the media close to the Hungarian government.

Francis is the second pope to visit Hungary, a central European country of nearly 10 million people, after visits by John Paul II in 1991 and 1996. Despite his advanced age and knee pain forcing him to move around in a wheelchair, the head of the Catholic Church continues to travel.

He is due to go to Lisbon in August and Marseille in September.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-02-27

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