Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén has announced that the day of Pope Francis’ funeral will be a national day of mourning in the country to express the nation’s gratitude to the Holy Father and the nation’s grief.
The pope last appeared before the faithful on Easter Sunday, April 20, before passing on Easter Monday. He was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
“We were shocked to learn of the news of the Holy Father’s death. Hungary can be grateful to the Holy Father, not only Catholics, but all Hungarians, as he visited the Hungarians three times,” Semjén said, as reported by Magyar Nemzet. “He came to our national shrine, Csíksomlyó, during his visit to Transylvania, then to Budapest, for the Eucharistic Congress, and later on an apostolic visit to Hungary,” recalled the leader of The Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP), which rules Hungary in coalition with Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Hungary also sent a letter of condolence to the papal chamberlain, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, in accordance with protocol traditions.
PM Orbán, whose wife is a devout Catholic, posted his condolences on X as well, noting the pope’s prayer, “Instill into the hearts of people and the leaders of nations the desire to build peace.” He added that Hungary “will honour his legacy. May he rest in eternal peace.”
🕯️ We mourn the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex – a shepherd who led with courage & unwavering faith. Twice, we had the honour of welcoming him to Hungary. His prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Hungary, still resonates: “Instil into the hearts of… pic.twitter.com/xZuqeZtHt1
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) April 21, 2025Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén also reiterated the pope’s and Hungary’s dedication to peace, saying that “the Hungarian government’s commitment to peace met his peace aspirations.”
“The Holy Father was rightly called a man of peace, because if anyone did everything for peace, it was the Pope. he supported everything so that there would finally be peace and diplomacy instead of weapons taking control of events,” he said.
Semjén noted that Pope Francis had a special connection to Hungarians. “He had worked among Hungarian nuns, so when he met a Hungarian, he always said in Hungarian, ‘God bless you!’ He always had great love for the Hungarian people, which was also expressed during his apostolic visit. He himself said he was deeply touched by the love with which the nation welcomed him,” the KDNP chairman noted.
Pope Francis shared two primary goals with Hungary: peace and family. Both topics featured prominently in talks between the Holy See and Orbán in recent years. In fact, few leaders have met with a pope so often, with the Hungarian leader sitting down with the head of the Catholic Church just last December, their fourth meeting since 2021.
The pope also shared the Hungarian government’s view on gender ideology.
Prime Minister Orbán also posted on Facebook, a simple message with the same black and white photo: “We thank you for everything, Holy Father. We say goodbye We bid farewell.”
