Let’s bring together the world in Budapest!

The Earth became significantly smaller in the last one hundred years. Not physically, of course, but thanks to all the technical developments, thousands of kilometres can be covered in only a couple of hours. When Budapest hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in 1938, it took nine hours to get to Budapest from Szentgotthárd, the westernmost town in Hungary. Nowadays, we fly from Budapest to New York in eight and a half hours, so we can say that the distance between two cities is symbolic. One can reach Budapest from Lisbon, the farthest capital in Europe, in no more than three and a half hours. Vanishing distance encourages those who are interested in the Congress all over the world to take the opportunity and visit Budapest for the greatest Catholic event of this year.

Hungary is a country in the middle of Europe. Hungary is a country with a history of one- thousand-year old statehood. Hungary is the country the first king of which, Saint Stephen, had offered the country and the Holy Crown of Hungary to the Virgin Mary the day before he died in 1038, nine hundred years before the last Budapest Eucharistic Congress. History can be sensed everywhere in Hungary. The nation of Hungary has been protected by the Virgin Mary for one thousand years. The country is situated between the East and the West, surrounded by great powers. It endured occupation, desolation, division during its history, but finally it survived all kind of dangers, and now, empowered in faith, is looking forward to showing its traditional hospitality and being an excellent host of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress.

The home city of the one-week event will be Budapest, which has plenty of inspiring sights to see with a great history, such as the St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Buda Castle or the Cave Church at St. Gellért’s Square. But there are places that are worth seeing, which are only an hour’s drive from Budapest, such as the Abbey of Tihany, built on the peninsula of the enchanting Lake Balaton; Visegrád, the jewel of the Danube Bend; the classicist Basilica of Esztergom, or Hollókő, a traditional Hungarian village that is part of the UNESCO world heritage. The list could be long continued and we will continue it in our thematic press releases.

As the spirit needs healing and regeneration, so does the body. Both can easily be found in Budapest, the “city of spas”, as the city (and other parts of the country) is incredibly rich in thermal water.

We are going to release a couple of thematic articles on Hungary and its faith to encourage our Catholic and Christian brothers and sisters, the seekers and those who are interested, to come to Budapest in September and see when tens of thousands of people congregate in the name of Jesus.

The Earth has shrunk, but the people also have to get closer to each other through meetings, openness and recognition to take it as a blessing. We have to look at Jesus as He was the best tourist guide, The Way, the Truth, and the Life! Let’s meet Him and each other, let’s bring together the world in Budapest!
52nd International Eucharistic Congress – Budapest, Hungary, 13-20 September, 2020.

Registration https://www.iec2020.hu/en/registration