Pope Francis is headed to Hungary for three days in April. The Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference released the full details of Pope Francis’ upcoming three-day visit to Hungary between April 28 and 30. The Hungarian Catholic Church first announced the visit on Feb. 23.
During his visit, Pope Francis will meet PM Orbán, visit Hungarian Church officials and workers at St. Stephen’s Basilica, and deliver a speech to Catholic youth in the László Papp Sports Arena. He will also celebrate Holy Mass on April 30 in front of the Hungarian parliament on Kossuth Lajos Square.
The pope was last in Budapest on Sept. 12, 2021, for the closing Holy Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress, but he only spent a few hours in the country, and the Vatican stressed it was not an official visit to Hungary.
On April 21, 2022, Pope Francis received Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for a private audience; this was the PM’s first official visit to the Vatican following the parliamentary elections. At the meeting, the prime minister officially invited Pope Francis to visit Hungary the following year.
Afterward, Hungarian President Katalin Novák had a private audience with the pope on Aug. 22, 2022, where the official letter of invitation was handed over. According to Hungary’s president, Pope Francis confirmed his intention to visit Hungary, and preparations for the papal visit have now begun.
