Pope Francis returns to Hungarian territory to bring his closeness to Hungary’s faithful as his 41st Apostolic Visit with the motto ‘Christ is our future. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, tells journalists while pointing out that this travel, however, takes place as Europe faces a migration and humanitarian crisis, as the war in Ukraine takes place across the border.
Pope Francis will set out on his three-day visit to the majority-Christian nation, underscored the Director of the Press Office, even if this time the Pope’s message for hope will echo in a new way as the war in Ukraine provokes increased suffering on the nation’s northeast border.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, some million refugees provoked by the Russian invasion have passed through Hungary to Europe, where they received aid, and a fraction of whom have stayed.
This travel marks the second Apostolic Journey of 2023, after his Journey to the African nations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan at the beginning of the year.