PHOTOS, VIDEOS: Hungarian President asked Pope Francis to promote peace in Moscow, Kyiv, Washington

Hungarians and millions worldwide see Pope Francis as “a man of peace”, President Katalin Novak said in her greeting to the pontiff at the Carmelite Monastery on Friday. The president expressed hope that Francis could “talk to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington, Brussels, Budapest and everyone without whom there can be no peace”.

“Here in Budapest, we ask that you personally take action in the interest of securing an urgent, just peace,” she said. “We believe that the arrival of the Holy Father in Hungary is no accident, but the right time and place to meet, to ring the bells and declare peace,” Novák said. God, when the time is right, brings together and gives strength to those who trust the power of love, unity and peace, she added. “Hungarians want to rise to the heights where they can find the unity of Christ’s faithful and well-intentioned people seeking peace,” Novák said.

She said Hungarians wanted the pope’s apostolic visit to give an impetus to that rise to a height “from where we can get a view of the path to spiritual renewal and peace”. “It is we, Hungarians and Europeans who must stay on the right path,” Novák said. “We can receive encouragement, guidance and affirmation for that, but it is only we European people and leaders who can use the free will given to us in a way that will lead to a more peaceful, more democratic and stronger Europe.” Novak noted that St. Pope John Paul II visited Hungary when the country needed him most, at the time of the “new beginning” after the fall of communism. This, she said, was also true of Pope Francis’ visit, because “now is the time when Hungary and Europe needs him most”.

“Your Holiness reaffirms in us that there is a basis for, sense in, and future for life based on Christian values in the 21st century, too,” Novák said. “And we also reaffirm this for Your Holiness. This is what we give each other: life, the protection of the family and the sustaining power of Christianity.” “We are allies,” Novák said, adding that Hungary and the pope both protected “life, woman, man, our persecuted Christian brethren, as well as the freedom of those who think and act differently.” Novák said this alliance had been made “tragically timely” by the war in Ukraine. She underscored the “exemplary” assistance Hungary was providing to the 1.5 million refugees who have fled to Hungary, saying Hungarians saw the pain of the families who have been torn apart. “But we mothers primarily want to win peace, not the war,” she said. “We don’t want to send our sons and husbands to the frontlines.” As Hungary’s first female president, Novák thanked Francis for his encouragement to women in starting families, raising children, and their role as community leaders.

Here are some photos of their meeting:

Pope Farncis greeted young people with the Hungarian President in a live selfie video in Spanish:

President presents Pope Francis with gifts

President Katalin Novák on Friday presented Pope Francis with several gifts on the occasion of his apostolic visit to Hungary. Novák presented Francis with an album of Biblical drawings by Hungarian children and youth. The pope was also given stems of a special rose named after St. Elisabeth. The president also presented the pope with a virgin Mary robe of Andocs. She noted on Facebook this week that Pope Francis had elevated the church in the southern Hungarian village to the rank of minor basilica. The pope was also given a decorative book on the Holy Crown of Hungary. Here photos of the presents:

And here is a video about how Pope Francis arrived to the Buda Castle:

1,500 students to attend papal mass in Kossuth Square

Some 1,500 school students will attend papal mass in Kossuth Square as part of an initiative organised by the Rakoczi Association. The students are arriving from Transcarpathia (western Ukraine), Partium (Transylvania, Romania) and Hungary on Sunday morning at Nyugati railway station, from where they will be transported to the papal mass at Kossuth Square, the organisation said on Friday.

Franciscan monk Csaba Böjte and Miklós Panyi, a state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, will receive the students. The statement said the association looked forward to “a beautiful experience for the young people, who will be able to pray together with thousands of Hungarians for peace, for Christian Hungary and for Europe.” The pope’s apostolic visit from Friday to Sunday is being covered by almost all Hungary’s public media channels, including six live broadcasts on Duna TV and Kossuth Rádió.

Postal service issues commemorative stamp