The Pope receives a large group of Hungarian pilgrims and commemorates the apostolic journey made to their land about a year ago. There is a strong appeal to be men and women of peace following the example of the saints: “I thank you because you have an open heart towards the Ukrainian refugees”
Paolo Ondarza – Vatican City
Pellegrino, brother and friend. This is how the Pope introduces himself to the approximately 1,200 Hungarian pilgrims he met this morning in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican.
Peace that gives joy
The memory goes back to the apostolic journey of a year ago. As then, Francis indicates peace to everyone as the path to follow. Not just any peace, but that given by Christ in his greeting to his disciples after the Resurrection:
Let us not forget, brothers and sisters, that the realization of this great gift begins in the heart of each of us; it begins in front of the door of my house when, before going out, I decide whether I want to live that day as a man or a woman of peace, that is, to live in peace with others. Peace comes when I decide to forgive, even if it is difficult, and this fills my heart with joy.
The Pope’s thanks for welcoming Ukrainian refugees
Speaking of peace, once again the Bishop of Rome’s gaze is turned to those who live on the margins of society and naturally to neighboring Ukraine.
I thank you because you have an open heart towards the Ukrainian refugees who left their country due to the war. And I also appreciate your efforts to integrate those who live on the peripheries of society.
Building a future of hope
Francis renews the prayer pronounced a year ago in Budapest, “a beautiful city of bridges and saints”. He mentions the saints Stephen, Ladislaus, Elizabeth, Emerico and asks us to pray for Europe, “for the desire to build peace, to give the young generations a future of hope, not of war, a future full of cradles, not of tombs, a world of brothers, not of walls”.
Closeness, tenderness, compassion: God’s style
He therefore urges everyone to follow, even in the current historical context, the example of many heroes of faith who emerged from the Hungarian people and who took on “God’s style”, made of tenderness, closeness, compassion. Among these, Blessed Vimos Apor who paid with his life for his closeness and defense of refugee women, the young priest János Brener who without suspecting that it was a trap, driven by apostolic zeal, went to bring Communion to an alleged sick person and was barbarously killed.
Search for the roots to lay solid foundations for the future
Better to give than receive. The Pontiff says it in Hungarian – “Jobb adni mind kapni” – and urges people to bear witness to their faith “in lived ecumenism, in relationships with neighbours, in welcoming charity even for those who are different, in respect for every human life and in responsible care for the environment”. In fact, it is in giving ourselves that we find ourselves and life does not remain empty. The Pontiff explains it to the young people present, reminding them of the importance of roots.
I still want to encourage you to walk in dialogue with the generations that preceded you. Talking with grandparents, with the elderly of your people; to look for the roots, because in this way you will lay solid foundations for the future. By safeguarding your roots you will be able to look forward with confidence, strengthening yourself in the values that give life: family, unity, peace.
Before the hearing in the Paul VI Hall with the Hungarian pilgrims accompanied by the Primate of Hungary Cardinal Péter Erdő and the President of the Hungarian Episcopal Conference Monsignor András Veres, Pope Francis this morning received the President of the Republic of Hungary Tamás Sulyok in the study of the Paul VI Hall.
