The statue of Cardinal József Mindszenty, prince-primate, was inaugurated on Saturday in Krakow, Poland, in the forecourt of the Hungarian Chapel of the Basilica of Divine Mercy. The monument is a donation of the legendary Hungarian anti-communist oppositionist, Tibor Pákh.
The ceremony was attended by Sándor Lezsák, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. In his speech, he underlined: Mindszenty's dramatic life symbolizes the 20th century history of Hungary, the struggle for independence of the Christian nations, and also shows the common destiny of the Polish and Hungarian nations.
He recalled that the Polish primate, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, who played a role similar to the Hungarian prince-primate during communism, was beatified in Warsaw in September. He concluded his speech with a prayer for the canonization of Cardinal Mindszenty.
Ryszard Terlecki, the deputy speaker of the Polish House of Commons, who also spoke at the ceremony, highlighted noticeable parallels in the lives of the two primates.
The donor of the statue, 97-year-old Tibor Pákh, did not personally participate in the memorial inauguration. At his request, Ákos Engelmayer, the first Hungarian ambassador in Warsaw after the regime change, and a well-known figure in Polish-Hungarian relations, spoke on his behalf. He quoted Pákh's words that József Mindszenty and Szent II. János Pál did his best to ensure that their nations survived the difficult times of communism and were spiritually renewed.
The monument was donated by Pákh in the name of the thousand-year-old Hungarian-Polish friendship, as a thank you for preserving the respect of the common saints, Saint László, Saint Kinga and Saint Hedwig, as well as for the fact that the Archdiocese of Krakow started the process of beatification of Count János Esterházy in 2019, Engelmayer said. .
In his speech, Ákos Engelmayer recalled Tibor Pákh's life and called him not only a hero of the Hungarian resistance, but also his own "political godfather". The hunger strike in May 1980, which Pákh conducted together with the Poles in Podkowa Lesna near Warsaw, was a sign of the Solidarity movement founded a few months later, the former ambassador underlined. He also mentioned that Pákh demanded the rehabilitation of Mindszenty.
The Mindszenty statue in Kraków, designed by Sándor Kligl, Munkály Munkácy award-winning Hungarian sculptor, and executed by stone sculptor Csaba Latorcai, was made of limestone, Tibor Gerencsér, the Hungarian Consul General in Kraków, who also participated in the event, told MTI.
Co-organized by the Consulate General, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra will also give a festive concert in honor of the memorial inauguration on Saturday evening. The event is also a tribute to the heroes of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence.
MTI
Photo: MKPK Press Service
