Difficult times are coming, and at this time there is a great need for sure points such as the presence of the Dominican order in Hungary, said Budakeszin, the State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office responsible for church and ethnic relations.
Miklós Soltész emphasized at the dedication of the chapel of the Holy Cross and the extended convent of the Dominican sisters: in difficult times, the inward-looking faith of the monks, but also calling others, is needed, and the serenity that the communities of the Dominican sisters radiate.
The state secretary quoted St. Teresa of Avila: "I would rather fear a sour nun than an army of evil spirits." He added that whether he visited the Dominicans in Kőszeg, Hódmezővásárhely, or Budakesz, he never had to be afraid.
The Dominican sisters always have a smile and kindness on their faces. This friendliness is radiated by their communities, it is experienced by the children and their parents who are brought up and study in their educational institutions, he said.
In today's world, people often calculate whether an investment is worth it. The people of Buda made a good investment when they gave land to the Dominican sisters, it was a good decision to build the convent and expand it into a center radiating to the districts of Buda and the entire Zsámbéki basin, he said.
Miklós Soltész thanked the sisters for creating a center that not only served the life of the Dominican community, but was also "open to the outside".
The chapel was consecrated by the County Bishop of Székesfehérvár, Antal Spányi. In his homily, the chief pastor talked about: there are places in the world that people have "prayed over" for a long time, and where therefore God's closeness can be experienced.
The new chapel of the Dominican sisters should also become such a place, he added.
"A community of monks prepares to perform their daily prayers here, to bring their hearts and souls here with all its joys and worries, to pray here for the whole world. Pray for what is asked of him, and also for what no one asks for, but what he knows the world needs," said Antal Spányi, adding that in time this chapel will also be the chosen place where heaven and earth where man and God can "meet intimately".
During the renovation of the center in Budakesz, the convent was rebuilt and expanded with a new floor, and a new chapel was built on the site of the garage.
The building complex was expanded by 1,000 square meters, and another 1,030 square meters were remodeled. Construction began in 2020. The total cost of the investment was almost HUF one billion.
There are fifty Dominican sisters in Hungary, they run a kindergarten and a school in Hódmezővásárhely and a school in Kőszeg. The center of the monastic order is located in Budakesz, where the training of the sisters also takes place. The members of the order who live there take part in parish and school religious education, and teach at the Sapientia College of Religious Studies.
Around 30,000 Dominican sisters live in more than a hundred congregations worldwide.
Source: Magyar Hírlap
Image: MTI
