The head pastor said that he was very happy to be able to take over a church with a rich history in the heart of the Roman Forum.
Cardinal Péter Erdő took over his new title church, the St. Francis Basilica in the heart of the Roman Forum, in the historic center of Rome, in a solemn mass. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, former president of the Italian bishops' conference, Archbishop Piero Marini, retired papal master of ceremonies, former president of the Pontifical Commission of International Eucharistic Congresses, Archbishop Giuseppe Sciacca, took part in the celebration ceremony. He was honored with his presence by Ambassador to the Holy See Eduárd Habsburg, Hungarian Ambassador to Rome Zoltán Ádám Kovács and Norbert Németh, rector of the Pontifical Hungarian Institute. Gábor Mohos, auxiliary bishop of Esztergom-Budapest, and László Süllei, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, concelebrated at the Mass.
In his bilingual homily, Cardinal Péter Erdő thanked Pope Francis for the new title church. After the presentation of the festive mass, the senior pastor said that he had been going to pray and present mass at St. II for many years. Received from Pope János Pál to the early Christian basilica of St. Balbina in Rome.
Unfortunately, however, it has now reached such a state that it is no longer possible to say mass there. Therefore, through Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the body of cardinals, he asked the Holy Father to designate another titular church for him. The head pastor said that he was very happy to be able to take over a church with a rich history in the heart of the Roman Forum. The basilica also had a special role in the Middle Ages, as the pope returned here after his captivity in Avignon, and in the XI. Pope Gregory rests here as well.
The cardinal also spoke about the figure of Saint Francis of Rome, whose mortal remains rest in the church.
Apart from the apostle princes, he is one of the co-patron saints of the city of Rome, an extremely popular saint. As a widow, she walked the streets of the city, helped the needy, and never got into any trouble, even though there was no public safety like it is today. In Rome, he is also considered the patron saint of motorists, and according to tradition, a ceremonial dedication of cars is held at the nearby Colosseum every year.
He also shared the interesting fact that in this church there are the two stone footprints, which are considered to be the footprints of St. Peter's knees. According to legend, Simon had his spiritual battle with the magician here. It was so revered by the Roman people that everyone wanted to kneel there, so the popes decided to take the stone out of the floor and place it on the wall. It is still located in the wall of the basilica.
The oldest known image of the Virgin Mary in the entire Western Church is also located here in the sacristy. Finally, the cardinal reported that the basilica still has a beautiful liturgical life, because next to it is the monastery of the Olivetan Benedictines, who perform the liturgical service and who also have an excellent pastoral relationship with the Roman community.
On June 30, Cardinal Péter Erdő was honored with a prestigious canon law recognition, the Vox Canonica 2023 award, in the House of Representatives of the Italian Parliament. The recognition was given in the presence of numerous canon lawyers, in a ceremonial setting in the ceremonial hall of the Montecitorio palace.
Vox Canonica 2023 is an award of an association of ecclesiastical lawyers, in which mainly lawyers who graduated from the Lateran University gather - the cardinal explained the award. This means not only a kind of school-fellow community, but also a definite trend within church law. The Lateran University is the only one with a faculty of Utriusque Iuris, where world law and church law are both scientifically cultivated and taught, said the archbishop. Finally, he added, the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome is particularly valuable because the dialogue between ecclesiastical lawyers and representatives of the laity is the most powerful there. In today's age, this is extremely relevant.
