PHOTOS: 16th Ars Sacra festival opened in Budapest

President Katalin Novák opened the 16th Ars Sacra festival in Budapest on Friday. “Christianity, for us, Hungarians, is a predestination, it is our past, our present and our future,” Novák, who is a chief patron of the event, said in central Budapest.

Citing from the country’s basic law, Novák said that the protection of Hungary’s constitutional self-identity and Christian culture is a fundamental duty of every institution of the state. “It is us that must not only respect the past, but must also actively protect values such as marriage, having children, the family or the national community,” she said.

Novák said that similarly to the Eucharistic Congress Budapest hosted last year, the Ars Sacra Festival demonstrates “how we are able to represent Christian culture authentically and in an attractive way”.

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Michael Wallace Banach, the Apostolic Nuncio to Hungary, said the festival addresses the notion of togetherness.

“Religious art will invite participants in the next several days to experience the values that are essential at every time and for every culture,” he said. The nine-day festival will feature 400 programmes in 11 genres including music, literature and fine arts in 80 localities across Hungary.

Here are some photos:

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Source: MTI