Zoltán Osztie, parish priest of Budapest-Belvárosi Nagyboldogasszony Main Parish and the Society of Social Brothers, was honored with the Mindszenty Memorial Medal on Friday in Budapest. Named after József Mindszenty, former archbishop and prince-primate of Esztergom, the awards were presented by Sándor Lezsák, the vice-president of the Parliament and the executive president of the Mindszenty Society, in the Parliament.
Recalling the life journey of Zoltán Osztie Sándor Lezsák, he said: he was ordained a priest in Esztergom in 1981, he held his first parish assignment from 1986 to 1990 in Szigetköz, Ásványráró, in 1990 he became assistant parish priest at the Main Parish of Our Lady of Budapest, and between 1992 and 2000 He served at the Parish of Our Lady of Magyars on Rezső tér in Józsefváros. He pointed out that in the former church with two and then three chaplains, Father Osztie performed his duties alone: in addition to the spiritual care of the residents, he also did a lot of work, that there were also three hospitals in the parish area, with many patients who needed spiritual comfort and reassurance.
Sándor Lezsák also touched on the fact that in 1990, the first freely elected government considered the partial return of the church assets nationalized after 1947 to be a goal, however, the realization of this caused sharp political debates, resulting in movements against Christian churches and destruction that sometimes degenerated into violence. The churches that were attacked had to defend themselves against inciting sentiments against Christianity, and the most acceptable method for this was increasing involvement in civil organizations, he added.
Zoltán Osztie, parish priest of Budapest-Belvárosi Nagyboldogasszony Fõplébánia (b), receives the Mindszenty medal from Sándor Lezsák, vice president of the National Assembly, executive president of the Mindszenty Society in the Delegation Hall of the Parliament on November 3, 2023.
MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry
According to Sándor Lezsák
In his public appearances, Father Zoltán Osztie "was able to separate the representation of church interests and principles from his daily party political roles", this sense made him suitable in the eyes of many to become the president of the Association of Christian Intellectuals in 1997.
Sándor Lezsák said: In 2001, Zoltán Osztie returned to the Parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Budapest's inner city, and with great effort he managed to renovate the church - located on Március 15. square - from the inside. Thanks to archaeological research, a Virgin from the 1300s came to light. Mary fresco. He added:
the father wanted to make the church a place of pilgrimage, and he succeeded in doing so; on his initiative, the relic of St. Gellert was returned from Murano to its original resting place.
Viktor Attila Soós, a member of the Mindszenty Society and the National Remembrance Committee, praised the Society of Social Brothers and spoke about:
the community was founded a hundred years ago, in 1923, by Margit Slachta, the first Hungarian female parliamentarian, and since then the society has been serving and leading the way in Hungarian society and the church, carrying out child, women and family protection tasks, charitable, social, health and performing a cultural service.
He recalled: in the first twenty-five years, in addition to deepening and strengthening, public activity was typical, then came the trials, the silence, the difficult decades of the communist dictatorship, and later the decades after the regime change, when the challenges of new times and new eras had to be met. Today, the Society of Social Sisters is the largest women's community living a life dedicated to God in Hungary - emphasized Viktor Attila Soós, emphasizing that on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of its founding, Pope Francis welcomed the leaders of the society.
The Mindszenty Memorial Medal will be handed over in the Delegation Hall of the Parliament on November 3, 2023.
MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry
The Mindszenty Society, which donates the award, was founded in 2004. Its purpose is to cherish the memory of József Mindszenty, to introduce the historical work of the former archpriest to the public, to reveal the cardinal's entire life, and to promote his beatification.
MTI
Our featured image: The two recipients of the Mindszenty Memorial Medal, Emma Németh, the Hungarian head of the Society of Social Brothers (b) and Zoltán Osztie, parish priest of the Budapest-Belvárosi Nagyboldogasszony Fõplébány (j), in the middle Sándor Lezsák, vice president of the National Assembly, executive chairman of the Mindszenty Society , the recipient of the award in the Delegation Hall of the Parliament on November 3, 2023.
MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry
