On Wednesday, Cardinal Péter Erdő, who has led the Esztergom-Budapest Archdiocese for 20 years, was greeted with a mass in the Esztergom basilica on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The ceremony was attended by László Kövér, Speaker of the Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, as well as members of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference (MKPK).
András Veres , the president of the MKPK, said in his greeting: the cardinal led the board for ten years, during which time "we experienced and still feel his readiness to help the work of this community". The bishop emphasized that they look with pride on Péter Erdő's service as a cardinal, which he performs for the service of the church with the help of the current pope, and that the experiences there enrich the work of the bishops' conference.
Archbishop László Süllei , vicar general and parish priest, recalled that Péter Erdő said at his enthronement mass that the fundamental question is what we can do together now so that the work of love and peace of Jesus Christ in us and in the world moves forward. He said that the question also shows courage, because he is not afraid to show the world the way to salvation. He believed that a life based on the word of grace unfolds before us in the service of the cardinal.
In addition to Péter Erdő's work as a church leader, László László Süllei praised the legal and theological creative activities of the Cardinal, Primate, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, which served as a guide for generations of canon law students.
At the end of the mass, he handed over a book to the cardinal, in which were collected the personal stories, congratulations, and photographs recalling the significant events of his work.
Source: MTI
(Cover photo: János Tóth/Szent Adalbert Center)
