Pope Francis departs from Budapest, closing the 52nd Intl Eucharistic Congress – PHOTOS

The pontiff arrived at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in the morning where he was greeted with military honours and by church and state delegations.

During his visit, Francis met President János Áder and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts before holding talks with Hungarian bishops.

He then met with the delegations of the Ecumenical Council of Hungarian Churches and Hungarian Jewish organisations before greeting the Catholic faithful on his way to Heroes’ Square where he celebrated Statio Orbis, the mass closing the International Eucharistic Congress.

At the airport, Pope Francis was seen off by a church delegation consisting of Michael August Blume, the Apostolic Nuncio to Budapest; Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest; and András Veres, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference; as well as a state delegation comprising Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler and state secretary for church and minority relations Miklós Soltész.

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