BUDAPEST: Pope Francis arrived in Hungary on Friday at the start of a three-day trip where the war in Ukraine, migration and Europe’s Christian roots are expected to top the agenda in his public addresses and talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The visit is his first trip since he was admitted to hospital for bronchitis in March.
Looking cheerful, Francis walked by cane after disembarking to a gathered crowd and being greeted by Hungarian government officials and two children in traditional national dress offering bread and salt.
On Sunday, Francis will preside at an open-air Mass in front of parliament, overlooking the Danube River in Budapest.
Francis is keeping a promise of an official visit, after a stop of only seven hours to close a Church congress in Budapest in 2021 on his way to Slovakia left many feeling slighted.
He has acknowledged the visit’s content will be affected by current events, even if the main purpose is meeting Hungarian Catholics.
Francis is due to meet Orban later on Friday.
“Looking forward to the visit of @pontifex,” Orban said on Twitter on Thursday evening. “In troubled times like ours, it is essential to remember what keeps us together, and faith is the foundation upon which we can build a stable future.”
Orban 59, and the pope, 86, have differing views on handling migration from the Middle East and Africa to Europe, with Francis believing migrants fleeing poverty should be welcomed.
But on Ukraine, which is in a second year of war with Russia, Orban has said Hungary and the Vatican are the only two European states that can be described as “pro-peace”.
Both have called for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war, and Francis has urged Ukraine to be open to dialogue with “aggressor” Russia, something Ukraine has so far ruled out.
Hungary supports a sovereign Ukraine but still has strong economic ties to Russia. Orban’s government has refused to send weapons to Ukraine.
While the pope has often called for a general ban on arms trafficking and reduction in weapons manufacturing, he has also said sending arms to Ukraine is morally acceptable if they are used for self-defence.
CHRISTIAN HUNGARY
Hungary, a European Union member, has been a thoroughfare for migrant flows into the bloc with its border on the outer edge.
Orban, whose government built a steel fence on the border with Serbia to keep out migrants, has refused to let Hungary be transformed into an “immigrant country” like he says others in Europe have become. He asked Francis in 2021, during the pope’s last visit, “not to let Christian Hungary perish”.
He gave him a gift then that needed no interpretation: a facsimile of a letter that 13th century King Bela IV sent to Pope Innocent IV asking for help in fighting the Tartars.
Francis believes that, while countries have a right to protect their borders, migrants should be distributed throughout the EU. He sees integration as culturally enriching for host countries and something to boost Europe’s dwindling populations.
For Hungarians waiting for a chance to see Francis, some saw his visit as a moment of hope.
“I believe that with so much sorrow in the world that a positive message from the Pope would do us good,” Annamaria Duzmath said while passing Budapest’s St Stephen’s Basilica on Friday.
The visit is his first trip since he was admitted to hospital for bronchitis in March.
Looking cheerful, Francis walked by cane after disembarking to a gathered crowd and being greeted by Hungarian government officials and two children in traditional national dress offering bread and salt.
On Sunday, Francis will preside at an open-air Mass in front of parliament, overlooking the Danube River in Budapest.
Francis is keeping a promise of an official visit, after a stop of only seven hours to close a Church congress in Budapest in 2021 on his way to Slovakia left many feeling slighted.
He has acknowledged the visit’s content will be affected by current events, even if the main purpose is meeting Hungarian Catholics.
Francis is due to meet Orban later on Friday.
“Looking forward to the visit of @pontifex,” Orban said on Twitter on Thursday evening. “In troubled times like ours, it is essential to remember what keeps us together, and faith is the foundation upon which we can build a stable future.”
Orban 59, and the pope, 86, have differing views on handling migration from the Middle East and Africa to Europe, with Francis believing migrants fleeing poverty should be welcomed.
But on Ukraine, which is in a second year of war with Russia, Orban has said Hungary and the Vatican are the only two European states that can be described as “pro-peace”.
Both have called for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war, and Francis has urged Ukraine to be open to dialogue with “aggressor” Russia, something Ukraine has so far ruled out.
Hungary supports a sovereign Ukraine but still has strong economic ties to Russia. Orban’s government has refused to send weapons to Ukraine.
While the pope has often called for a general ban on arms trafficking and reduction in weapons manufacturing, he has also said sending arms to Ukraine is morally acceptable if they are used for self-defence.
CHRISTIAN HUNGARY
Hungary, a European Union member, has been a thoroughfare for migrant flows into the bloc with its border on the outer edge.
Orban, whose government built a steel fence on the border with Serbia to keep out migrants, has refused to let Hungary be transformed into an “immigrant country” like he says others in Europe have become. He asked Francis in 2021, during the pope’s last visit, “not to let Christian Hungary perish”.
He gave him a gift then that needed no interpretation: a facsimile of a letter that 13th century King Bela IV sent to Pope Innocent IV asking for help in fighting the Tartars.
Francis believes that, while countries have a right to protect their borders, migrants should be distributed throughout the EU. He sees integration as culturally enriching for host countries and something to boost Europe’s dwindling populations.
For Hungarians waiting for a chance to see Francis, some saw his visit as a moment of hope.
“I believe that with so much sorrow in the world that a positive message from the Pope would do us good,” Annamaria Duzmath said while passing Budapest’s St Stephen’s Basilica on Friday.