After a long negotiation, the church reached an agreement with the owner of the area, XII. with the district municipality about the construction of the chapel, and the plan was selected and accepted in a tender called on the proposal of the municipality.
The Atonement Chapel in Szent Anna-rét on Normafa can be completed by autumn, said Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest.
At the Mass presented in Budapest on Saturday night, the cardinal announced that after a long negotiation, the church reached an agreement with the owner of the area, the XII. with the district municipality about the construction of the chapel, and the plan was selected and accepted in a tender called on the proposal of the municipality.
After the Mass, the cardinal told MTI that he hopes the Atonement Chapel will be completed by autumn.
He said that based on the choice of the specialist committee, a relatively modest, small but modern chapel that fits into the landscape will be built. He added: the church's request was that a building reserved exclusively for liturgical purposes should not be built.
Péter Erdő explained: the facade of the new chapel will be openable according to the plans, so a larger community of believers will be able to participate in the ceremonies presented there. He noted that Mass is still held once a month at Normafa.
The cardinal recalled: there was already a small forest chapel in the 1700s on St. Anna's meadow or in its immediate vicinity, which began to deteriorate over time. Originally, it was "the demand of popular religiosity" to build a new chapel, in the 20th century. and by the 19th century, chapel building was already a "living topic". Following the Fatima apparitions, the "II. in an atmosphere full of anxiety and fear before World War II" the idea arose that the chapel should be the place of the Hungarian nation's atoning prayer: "as an atonement for our own sins and a plea for God to have mercy on the world and grant peace", said Péter Erdő.
After the war, Cardinal József Mindszenty himself, Duke Primate and Archbishop of Esztergom, also spoke about the importance of atonement in several circulars after the war, but he did not specifically connect it with the construction of the chapel. Plans were made for each evening, and a copy survives bearing the cardinal's signature. However, the construction of the chapel could no longer be realized in the 1940s.
He noted: the private revelations related to the construction of the chapel were not approved by the church, and József Mindszenty only wrote about them that they should be examined more thoroughly later.
Péter Erdő emphasized: although the construction took many decades, the creation of the Atonement Chapel is still relevant today, as the whole world and especially the Hungarian people are in great need of peace and the merciful and providential love of God.
The cardinal expressed his hope that the chapel will be "a display of our ancient desires and vows", "a plea for all of us in artistic form".
MTI
Photo: Cardinal Péter Erdõ, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest holds a First Saturday devotion for Hungarian youth and families at Sára Plébány in Salkaházi in Újpalota on March 5, 2022.
The cardinal announced that the Szent Anna-rét chapel on the Normafa can be built by autumn. After a long negotiation, the church reached an agreement with the owner of the area, XII. with the district municipality about the construction of the chapel, and the plan was selected and accepted in a tender called on the proposal of the municipality. MTI/Zoltán Balogh
