Pope Francis received Mayor Gergely Karácsony on a private visit, who was accompanied by his family to the meeting held at the Apostolic Nunciature: his wife, daughter and son.

At the meeting with the mayor, the pope expressed his conviction that

"we need bridges instead of walls"

- are explained in the announcement.

According to the information, Gergely Karácsony thanked the Pope for the fact that, in the midst of crises, the people of Budapest can draw strength and courage from his visit and his words about the city. The statement recalls that on the first day of his visit to Hungary, the Holy Father "called Budapest the city of history, bridges and saints, the protagonist of the present and the future".

"Budapest pays special attention to the support of the fallen"

The mayor told Pope Francis that "Budapest, as a free, diverse and solidarity city, pays special attention to the support of the downtrodden, the poor and the refugees".

Gergely Karácsony expressed his joy that

the Vatican chose the renewed Chain Bridge as the symbol of the visit,

referring to the building of bridges between people, which the mayor also considers his own personal mission.

Gergely Karácsony will also participate in the holy mass

On behalf of the people of Budapest, the mayor presented Pope Francis with a late 19th-century Chain Bridge photograph, created by György Klösz, the Office of the Mayor informed in a statement, in which it was also indicated that on Sunday the mayor will participate in the Holy Mass on Kossuth Square and the Regina Coeli prayer.

The MTI press release points out that Pope Francis's declaration of humanity, social justice, climate protection and environmental protection is close to Gergely Karácsony. They quote the mayor's previous statement that "Pope Francis was perhaps the first among world leaders to say the most important thing: 'We can only fight climate change and the destruction of the environment effectively if we also confront poverty and social problems'".

Pope Francis' apostolic journey until Sunday and all public events related to his visit are reported on by almost all public media channels. Two live broadcasts can be seen and heard on Sundays on the Duna TV channel and Kossuth radio.

MTI

Featured image: Gergely Karácsony's Facebook page / Matteo Bruni/Holy See Press Office