Budapest, the city bathed by the Danube, will host Pope Francis, who will preside over the highlights of the International Eucharistic Congress, an assembly of the Catholic Church that meets to manifest love for Christ in the Eucharist and to bear witness before the world to God’s infinite love for humanity. The event will include outdoor Masses, concerts, exhibits, performances, testimonies, historical tours, family activities and a film festival.
Budapest will be an ideal setting, with its historic buildings, its vibrant cultural and artistic life, its picturesque location, its delicious gastronomy, and its famous hospitality. The program includes testimonies by witnesses to the faith of the 21st century. These will include—among others—the testimonies of Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako of Baghdad, Iraq; Cardinal Charles Maung, Archbishop of Rangoon, a voice of conscience in the difficult times Burma is going through; and Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria.
There will be moments of festive celebration with young people, and such varied personalities as Mary Healy, American theologian, one of the first women members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission of the Holy See, and János Áder, President of Hungary, will take the floor. The International Eucharistic Congress will thus become a unique opportunity for the more than one billion Catholics in the world to discover and, if possible, visit the extraordinary spiritual, cultural and artistic richness of Hungary.
Throughout Hungary’s 1,100-year history, faith and respect for tradition have created a number of wonderful and sacred places throughout the country that are waiting for you to visit. More information about the Congress is available on the official tourism website.
And today we celebrate...