Pope Francis will visit Hungary from April 28 to 30, the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, announced on February 27, 2023. This will be his first trip this year to a European country, after his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in early February.
The Argentine Pontiff went to Budapest on September 12, 2021, for the closing of the International Eucharistic Congress, but that short visit lasted only a few hours and was not considered an official visit to the central European country.
Pope Francis’ trip will be based in the capital city of Budapest. The other stops that had been considered were apparently not included due to the 86-year-old Pope’s mobility difficulties, as he moves mostly in a wheelchair. Contrary to rumors, the Bishop of Rome will not visit the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma nor the city of Esztergom, which is close to Budapest and the historic seat of the Archdiocese of the Hungarian capital.
Rapprochement between Rome and Budapest in the context of the war in Ukraine
During his visit on September 12, 2021, presented as a visit ‘to Budapest’ and not ‘to Hungary,’ Pope Francis spent only seven hours on Hungarian soil, before flying to Slovakia, the second destination of his 34th apostolic journey. Pope Francis met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the then Hungarian President János Áder, before celebrating the closing Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress. He also gave two speeches, one to the local bishops and the other to representatives of the World Council of Churches and Jewish communities in the country.
Media attention was largely focused on the distance Pope Francis had put between himself and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is reluctant on the issue of welcoming migrants. While welcoming the Hungarian government’s support for families, the Pope refused to give a political dimension to this trip linked to an ecclesial event. However, he did promise to return to Hungary for an official visit.
Since 2022, in the context of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, there has been a rapprochement between the Hungarian government and the Holy See, as demonstrated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to the Vatican on April 21, 2022. Pope Francis also met with the new president Katalin Novák on August 25, 2022.
Hungary and the Holy See agree on the need to help Ukrainian refugees, but also on maintaining contact with Russia in order to promote peace in Europe.