Györgyné Szigetvári, the outgoing leader of the charity group of the Budapest-Kispest Assumption Parish, received the St. Elizabeth's Rose award this year. The award was presented by András Veres, president of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference (MKPK), on Monday evening at the Music Academy.
In his greeting, András Veres emphasized: poverty is relative, who is poor or rich always depends on the possibilities of a given society, but it is certain that there will always be those who need help, as well as those who are ready to selflessly help their fellow human beings.
He recalled: by establishing the St. Elizabeth's Rose Award, the aim of the bishops' conference was to honor selflessly helping, voluntary, exemplary service people, such as this year's awardee. With the award given for the 22nd time, the body of bishops recognizes those who are not followed by a multitude of cameras, who carry out their service "in secret".
András Veres also spoke about: there are not only hidden helpers, but also hidden poor in our surroundings. They are the ones who, even though they are really in need, will never line up for food or clothing distribution.
"Our task is to find them and help them," emphasized András Veres, who wished that the Advent period would give us all plenty of opportunities to practice gestures of unconditional, helpful love.
Thanking Györgyné Szigetvári for the recognition, she spoke about the fact that even though she received the St. Elizabeth's Rose award today, she never did her work alone. Thanking the co-workers, church and charity leaders, as well as his family, he highlighted the support, the Good Lord always gave him the necessary grace to carry out his task.
Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, took part in the ceremony. Györgyne Szigetvári was awarded the prize by the body of bishops based on the recommendation of the cardinal.
According to the eulogy read out, Györgyné Szigetvári organized and led the work of the Kispest charity from 1990 until the summer of 2022, her 80th birthday. He was active for 32 years, sparing no time and sparing himself. He organized the Caritas group of Our Lady of Budapest-Kispesti Main Parish already when the national Caritas could not start again. She did all this while successfully completing her profession as a nurse as a manager.
Highlighted: Györgyné Szigetvári is an authentic witness of the church's charitable activities. In addition to carrying out organizational and logistical tasks, he acquired supporters, wrote tenders and took part in hard physical work in a way that belied his age. He established effective cooperation with the local social care system. The district municipality also recognized his work with the title of honorary citizen. For ten years, he was the Gypsy affairs referent of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest and since 1999 he has also been the head of the Southern Pest Caritász Region, it was said.
In December 1999, the MKPK established the St. Elizabeth's Rose Award to recognize the virtues of mercy and serving love, as well as to present the awardee's personal example.
The award is the work of sculptor Katalin Pálffy, a bronze medal with a diameter of 95 millimeters, the obverse of which depicts a rose, and the reverse bears the following inscription: St. Elizabeth's Rose Award; Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference.
This year, the bishops' conference will donate the proceeds of the award ceremony held as part of the charity evening to the László Batthyány-Strattmann Home for the Blind.
Source: Magyar Hírlap
Image: Katolikus.hu
