The theme of the Journey is “Christ is our future,” which sets a clear direction for the trip. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, emphasized that Budapest, the city of many bridges, could also be an opportunity to sound a warning to Europe and its future.

This travel marks the second Apostolic Journey of 2023, after his Journey to the African nations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan at the beginning of the year.

Pope St. John Paul II visited Hungary twice, in 1991 and 1996, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Bruni recalled.  

Pope Francis departs on April 28 for a three-day visit to Budapest, where he will meet with all the communities he would have possibly visited if his health had permitted it. For now, no ecumenical or Protestant encounters are planned, but a specific meeting with the Greek Catholics in the country is included in the program.

The Pope had promised he would return to Hungary on his way back from a brief visit to Budapest for the Statio Orbis of the International Eucharistic Congress, and he had long promised to do so.

Among the themes of the visit, Bruni indicated war and the cry for peace – Hungary borders Ukraine and has welcomed many refugees – as well as migration that arrives in the country through the Balkan route, ecology, and Europe itself.

“It’s a city rich in bridges in the heart of Europe, and it’s difficult not to think of all of Europe through the Hungarians to speak a word to the whole of Europe, a passion perhaps weakened over the years,” explained the director of the Holy See Press Office.

The stars are the many saints who come from Hungary, from Saint Martin to King Stephen, whose crown, brought by Pope Sylvester, was carried by Cardinal Mindszenty, another martyr, during his exile at the American embassy after the revolution of 1956, but also the other royal saints, from Saint Elizabeth to Saint Margaret, who became a nun to dedicate herself to the poor.

The Pope will travel with his usual entourage, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, on his first papal trip in the role, and Cardinal Lazzaro You, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

There will be six speeches, all delivered in Italian. One Meeting will be with refugees, including Ukrainians, and another with the Romani community, who are very present in Hungary and have also translated the Bible into Lovari. Another will be at an institute for the blind dedicated to Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann, which was run for years by Sister Anna Feher, the “Mother Teresa” of Hungary, and another will be the usual Meeting with the Jesuits.

But it is a program that could hold surprises, including a meeting with the world of culture, which speaks of Hungary also experiencing a sort of Catholic rebirth in the country.

From April 28 to 30, the world’s eyes will be on Budapest for the Pope’s first trip after his hospitalization before Easter.

Here’s the Official Programme of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Hungary:  

Friday, April 28, 2023

ROME – BUDAPEST

08:10 Departure by airplane from Rome/Fiumicino International Airport to Budapest

10:00 Arrival at Budapest International Airport

10:00 Official welcome

11:00 Welcome Ceremony in the square of “Sándor” Palace

11:30 Courtesy Visit to the President of the Republic in “Sándor” Palace

11:55 Meeting with the Prime minister  

12:20 Meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society, and the Diplomatic Corps in the former Carmelite Monastery

17:00 Meeting with Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Persons, Seminarians, and Pastoral Workers in St. Stephen’s Co-Cathedral

Saturday, April 29, 2023

BUDAPEST

08:45 Private visit to the Children of the “Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann” Institute

10:15 Meeting with poor people and refugees in St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church

16:30 Meeting with young people in “Papp László Budapest Sportaréna”

18:00 Private Meeting with Members of the Society of Jesus in the Apostolic Nunciature

Sunday, April 30 2023

BUDAPEST – ROME

09:30 Holy Mass in Kossuth Lajos’ Square

16:00 Meeting with the Academic and Cultural World at the Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics of the Catholic University “Péter Pázmány”

17:30 Farewell Ceremony at Budapest International Airport

18:00 Departure by airplane from Budapest International Airport to Rome 

19:55 Arrival at Rome/Fiumicino International Airport