Pope Francis has landed in Budapest for a visit to Hungary

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The head of the Catholic Church got off the plane and, surprisingly, made his way on foot and not in a wheelchair to the Hungarian delegation, who welcomed him to applause at the airport. Two children in traditional clothing offered him bread and salt as a welcome gift, a gesture common in Central Europe.

Francis will later be received by Hungarian President Katalin Novak at Sandor Palace in the historic Castle District. He will then meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban. His first speech is scheduled around noon in the former Carmelite convent, the current official residence of the Prime Minister. The address to government and civil society representatives is eagerly awaited.

It is the Pope’s second visit to Hungary. He was already in Budapest in 2021 to close the World Eucharistic Congress with a solemn mass. As Francis said before, with this trip he wants to “continue and complete” his previous visit. He also sees the trip as an opportunity to see again a church and a people he says are close to his heart.

The Pope’s current apostolic journey is the first since his recent hospitalization. He will also be in a country directly adjacent to the war zone for the first time since the Russian attack on Ukraine. He himself described his visit as a “journey to the heart of Europe, where the icy winds of war still blow”.

(SDA)

Source: Blick