The Hungarian national church named after the martyr St. Stephen is one of the first stops of the European Church Walk initiative, which begins in Rome on Sunday on the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the European Union.
The celebration of official diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the former European Community, which began fifty years ago, begins on May 9th Europe Day. On the occasion, a so-called "European route" is drawn up in the Italian capital, which touches the churches of today's twenty-seven EU member states.
The goal is to emphasize the deep ties between the member states and the Holy See, reads the announcement of the EU representation accredited to the Holy See.
The program begins on Sunday in the Basilica of St. John Lateran with the Mass presented by Cardinal Angelo De Donatis. The walk starts from here, which on the first day covers the churches of Latvia and the Czech Republic, as well as the national church of the Hungarians in Rome in the circular St. Stephen's Basilica. Among others, the ambassadors of the three countries to the Holy See will join the walk.
At each location, panels report on the history of the relations between the given country and the Holy See. In the Hungarian church, the choir of the Collegium Germanicum-Hungaricum clergy college welcomes visitors.
A different Roman national church joins the European commemoration, which lasts until May 27, every Sunday.
The last stop will be the chapel of the Teuton cemetery in the Vatican City area, which is named after Károly the Great.
The anniversary of the death of Cardinal József Mindszenty was commemorated with a mass on Thursday evening in the Hungarian church in Rome named after the martyr Saint Stephen. The church was Mindszenty's Roman title church from the time he was appointed cardinal in 1946. The Mass was presented by the Czech Cardinal Michael Czerny, Deputy Secretary of the Dicastery in the Service of Comprehensive Human Development.
MTI
Photo: MTI/Tamás Kovács
