Pietro Parolin explained the message of Pope Francis, who assured the faithful of Hungary of his “spiritual solidarity and prayers” and sent them his blessing. He pointed out that the Holy Father remembers with great love the apostolic visit to Hungary at the end of April 2023.
In his homily, the cardinal warned: we cannot build the temple of God, that is the church, while we ourselves are “in clear solitude, in the desert of our personal plans”.
No Christian is an isolated church and “we are called to receive the Lord and in his name” children, women, the elderly, the unemployed, refugees, abused people, war – especially the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
– his victims – he said.
We can meet suffering in all kinds of places, but also the fact that people are crying out for their fellow humanity. It needs the presence and help of the other person. At times like that, the church must be present, and “We are the church, we are pilgrims of hope for those in need,” said the leader.
Recalling the history of the Esztergom basilica, Pietro Parolin emphasized:
indeed we have churches made of stone and wood, but the most important church is the living church: “God of the people”.
Even more amazing – continued the throne, that we are all “a holy place”. Jesus assured us that if we love him and keep his word, the Father and the Son will come to us and they dwell in us.
Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, spoke in his greeting at the beginning of the Mass: the rededication of the basilica of Esztergom, which was destroyed during the Turkish period, on 31 August 1856, was the first step ‘ an attack of peace and dialogue after the fall of the revolution and freedom struggle of 1848-49 between the Hungarian nation and the Viennese court.
“In this sense, this basilica is a good symbol of Christianity in our country, as well as being a symbol of reconciliation”
– said Péter Erdő, saying that this arrangement is relevant again and again throughout history.
Members of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference met at the mass.
