The Pope’s special plane left Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport on the morning of April 28, and arrived at Hungary’s Budapest International Airport at 9:53 a.m. local time after more than an hour’s flight. This three-day pastoral visit will end on the 30th Sunday.
(Vatican News Network)Pope Francis has arrived in Budapest to start his apostolic tour in Hungary. The Pope’s special plane arrived at Budapest International Airport at 9:53 am on April 28, a few minutes earlier than expected. He departed from Rome Leonardo da Vinci International Airport at 8:21 a.m. that day, starting his 41st international pastoral journey. Pope Pope greeted fellow journalists on the plane as usual. They came from 10 countries, a total of 73 people, 8 of whom were Hungarian.
After the Pope’s special plane landed at Budapest Airport, Archbishop Michael Banach, the Holy See’s ambassador to Hungary, and Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, the Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See, greeted the Pope on the plane . Then, after the Pope got off the cabin by the elevator, he walked to the people present on crutches. The Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary and two children in traditional costumes greeted him at the bottom of the boarding stairs. The two children offered bread and salt to the Pope as a symbol of life, blessings and wishes. The pope tasted a small piece of bread that was broken off with his right hand. Among those present, there were also dozens of children, holding small flags of the Vatican and Hungary in their hands. Before going to the VIP room, the two sides introduced the delegation present. After this brief meeting, the pope went to the presidential palace.
Previously, the Pope stopped briefly in Budapest in September 2021 to hold the closing mass for the International Eucharistic Congress. Now, he’s back for another visit. Pope Francis is the second pope to visit Hungary, after Pope John Paul II visited the country twice in 1991 and 1996.
Hungarians rejoice in the arrival of Pope Francis. Hungarian newspapers ran headlines on the pope’s visit, with the headline, “Where there is Peter, there is the Church.” Radio and television news headlined the historic visit. In Budapest, there is a great deal of gratitude to Pope Francis, who is seen as a pilgrim of peace and a bearer of hope despite his recent health problems, as promised. The city welcomes Peter’s successor in a significant year: Budapest The city’s modern boundaries were actually marked in 1873, and this year happens to be celebrating its 150th anniversary.
In the early morning of April 28, the Pope met 15 homeless people near St. Peter’s Square at his residence, Casa Santa Marta, before leaving for Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. They were accompanied by Cardinal Krajewski, Prefect of the Congregation of Charity.
On April 26, the Pope went to the Basilica of Santa Maria in the center of Rome, prayed in front of the statue of the Roman Mother of the People’s Rescue, and entrusted the trip to Hungary to the Virgin Mary.
Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn
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2023-04-28 11:57:30
