Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate, Miklós Soltész, Secretary of State for Church and Ethnic Relations at the Prime Minister's Office and Zoltán Pokorni, Budapest XII. the mayor of the district held a joint press conference on the construction plans of the Atonement Chapel in Szent Anna-rét on March 16 in the Primate's Palace in Budavár.
The centuries-old desire of the faithful is to build a chapel on Anna-rét in Budapest at Normafa. The establishment of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the World atonement chapel as a special place of atonement was requested and prayed for by many people and in many different ways.
The believers have now come together so that their old plan can be realized through their donations.
Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate, expressed his joy at the press conference that "the construction of St. Anne's Chapel can now be realistically approached".
Freed from Turkish rule in the Baroque era, when the Swabians settled, the people of Budakeszi also built chapels on the border. One of these stood near today's St. Anne's meadow. The cardinal noted that "it is part of the folklore of the German people in Hungary that the veneration of the Virgin Mary is strongly connected with that of St. Anne." A chapel was built here in the Baroque era, which was destroyed over time. From the beginning of the 20th century, it was already well known that the chapel should be rebuilt there, in that place.
Another intention was added later. During the Fatima apparitions, the Virgin Mary preached a propitiatory prayer for peace, and from then on, a chapel was planned in connection with this intention. These two aspirations were connected, and a private revelation in the mid-1930s and 1940s also contributed to this, which, however, was never officially approved by the Church, but in any case, the idea of atonement lived in the people. All the more so, because Cardinal József Mindszenty and the entire Hungarian bishops called the faithful to regular atoning prayer (confession, communion), and every first Saturday this has been a custom since then, and it has been done under the leadership of the senior pastor, in the framework of which we pray the rosary with the intention of atonement - he said to Péter Erdő.
In the case of St. Anne's Meadow, the situation is that the territory does not belong to the Church, the cardinal continued. - But when the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, the intention of the believers to "make visible" our plea for peace and for the Hungarian people to emerge unscathed from this "international storm" strengthened. The XII. district municipality by allowing us to build, even though the area is not ours today - pointed out the head pastor. – We cannot dispose of it on our own initiative. At the same time, it is also important that on certain days of the year, atonement prayer takes place at St. Anne's Meadow, and in several cases, a holy mass is also held under the leadership of an invited priest. This chapel can be a visible sign and location of this religious activity.
At the press conference, the visual design of the chapel to be built was presented with the help of drone video recordings. "The twelve-seat special building can be opened to the east and to the west, and if it is opened to the valley, an open-air mass can be held for up to a thousand people, and if it is opened to the west, ceremonies can be organized for more than a hundred people," said Zoltán Pokorni, Budapest XII . the mayor of his district, who presented a bound copy of the chapel's construction and design documentation to Cardinal Péter Erdő at the event.
Zoltán Pokorni also said that since the chapel is being built in a Natura 2000 protected area, it was not easy to get this plan approved. In any case, the chapel to be built does not draw attention away from nature, but at the same time it provides an opportunity for reflection and prayer in the depths of the forest.
According to current calculations, the construction will cost HUF 127 million, for this purpose a fundraising campaign has been launched, in which you can get involved. 47 million 375 thousand 485 forints have been received so far. The smallest donation was HUF 1,500, the largest amount was donated by a doctor couple, Márkus Szilvia and Attila, and the Queen of the World Atonement Movement Foundation. A bell with a diameter of 44.5 centimeters has already been completed, which is exactly the size indicated in the plans. On the occasion of the papal visit, I would like to take the bell to the steps of the Szent István Basilica.
Zoltán Pokorni encouraged everyone to get involved in the fundraising campaign.
Miklós Soltész, the Prime Minister's State Secretary responsible for church and ethnic relations, said at the press conference that "among the donors are musician-singer Ákos Kovács and Károly Eperjes, Kossuth and Jászai Mari prize-winning actor", at the same time he asked everyone who cares about reconciliation and peace to support the construction with his donation.
Architects Péter Márkus and Kristóf Koczka won the two-round design competition, the architectural studio of Tamás Merkel developed and finalized the plans.
Source Magyar Kurír, where you can read László Körössy's entire article by clicking here .
