2023-04-30 11:24:32
On the third and final day of Pope Francis’ trip to Hungary, tens of thousands of people attended an open-air service in central Budapest on Sunday. Around 9:00 a.m., the pontiff drove in his popemobile to Kossuth Lajos Square near Parliament, where, according to official figures, around 80,000 people welcomed him.
“It’s very special to see the Pope so close,” Levente Kiss, a 21-year-old student, told AFP. “He’s very important in my life,” said another viewer after Francis drove past him.
At 4 p.m. the Pope will end his visit with a speech at a private Catholic university in Budapest to representatives of culture and science.
The Pope’s second visit to Budapest was marked by the war in neighboring Ukraine. At a meeting with refugees from Ukraine, the pontiff thanked Hungary for taking in the people and warned against the “evils of indifference”. The warning words of the pope could be interpreted in the context of Hungarian refugee policy. The government of right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is pursuing a strict anti-migration policy.
It is the Pope’s 41st trip abroad since he took office in 2013 and his first visit abroad after a three-day hospital stay for bronchitis.
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