Pope Francis to hold a mass in Budapest on September 12

The International Eucharistic Congress scheduled to be held in Budapest this September is a symbol of life after the pandemic, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, said after discussing Pope Francis’s participation in the Congress with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in the Vatican on Friday.

Erdő told MTI that his talks had focused on specific organisational matters concerning the upcoming Congress. Though it is too early to be talking about the event’s finishing touches, the programme is currently being organised, Erdő said, adding that

a Vatican delegation had inspected the Budapest venue of the Congress last week.

“What’s certain is that Pope Francis has an invitation to the Sept. 12 closing mass,” Erdő said. He noted that this International Eucharistic Congress closing mass will be the first in 20 years to be attended by the pontiff.

Pope Francis’s Budapest visit will also involve meetings with the Congress’s participants, Erdő said. Statio Orbis, the mass closing the Congress, will be celebrated by Pope Francis at Heroes’ Square on Sept. 12, he noted, adding that

the pontiff’s meeting with the faithful could be organised in the Museum of Fine Arts or the Budapest Hall of Art.

The Congress is also expected to be attended by Greek and Eastern Catholic bishops, Orthodox and Protestant guests as well as representatives of the Jewish community and civil society, the cardinal said.

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The International Eucharistic Congress scheduled to be held from Sept. 5 to 12 was originally set to be held in September last year but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: MTI