From September 12 to 15, Pope Francis will make an apostolic trip to Hungary and Slovakia
Newsdesk (July 24, 2021, 4:00 PM, Gaudium Press) On Wednesday morning, July 21, the Holy See released the program of the apostolic trip that Pope Francis will make between September 12 – 15 this year to Hungary and Slovakia.
On Sunday, September 12, Pope Francis will depart from Rome/Fiumicino International Airport for Budapest at 6:00 am to Budapest International Airport, where he is scheduled to arrive at 7:45 am.
At 8:45, the Pontiff will meet with the Hungarian President and Prime Minister at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts. Then, at 9:15, Pope Francis will meet with the bishops and give a speech.
A meeting with representatives of the Ecumenical Council of Churches and some Jewish Communities of Hungary is scheduled for 10:00 am at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest and the Pope’s second speech.
Closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress
At 11:30 am, the Holy Father will celebrate the closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress at Heroes’ Square in Budapest, where he will give the homily and the Angelus.
A Farewell Ceremony will be held at Budapest International Airport at 2:30 pm, and then the Pontiff will depart for Bratislava, Slovakia, where he will arrive around 3:30 pm.
At 4:30 pm, Pope Francis will participate in an ecumenical meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature in Bratislava where he will give a speech. At 5:30 pm, he will meet privately with members of the Society of Jesus at the Apostolic Nunciature in Bratislava.
Courtesy Visit to the President of Slovakia
On September 13, at 9:15 am, there will be a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, and at 9:30 am, a courtesy visit to the President of Slovakia in the Golden Hall of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava.
At 10:00 am, the Pope will meet with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps in the garden of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, where he will give his second speech in the country. At 10:45 am, the Holy Father will meet with bishops, priests, religious men and women, seminarians, and catechists at St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava, where he will give a speech.
At 4 pm, the Pope will pay a private visit to the “Bethlehem Center” in Bratislava. Then, at 4:45 pm, he will meet with the Jewish Community at the Rybné námestie Square in Bratislava, where he will give another speech. At 6:00 pm, he will receive a visit from the President of the Parliament at the Apostolic Nunciature of Bratislava, and soon after, a visit from the Prime Minister at the Apostolic Nunciature of Bratislava.
Byzantine Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
On September 14, Pope Francis will depart Bratislava by plane at 8:10 am for Kosice where he will arrive around 9 am At 10:30 am, there will be the Byzantine Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom presided over by the Pope, who will also deliver the homily at the Mestská sportová hala Square in Presov.
At 4 pm, the Pontiff will meet with the Roma Community in the Luník IX neighbourhood in Kosice, where he will deliver a greeting. At 5 pm, there will be a meeting with young people at the Lokomotiva Stadium in Kosice, where the Holy Father will give a speech. At 6:30 pm, he will fly to Bratislava, where he will arrive around 7:30 pm.
A moment of prayer with the Bishops at the National Shrine in Sastin
On the last day of the apostolic trip, September 15, at 9:10 am, there will be a moment of prayer with the bishops at the National Shrine in Sastin. Then, at 10:00 am, the Pontiff will celebrate Mass in this same shrine.
The farewell ceremony is scheduled to take place at 1:30 pm at the International Airport of Bratislava, from where the Pope will depart to Rome, arriving at Rome/Ciampino International Airport around 3:30 pm. (EPC)
Compiled by Sarah Gangl
