The Message of Cardinal Péter Erdő on the Occasion of the Arrival of the Mission Cross to Máriapócs

According to the decision of His Holiness, Pope Francis the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress will be held in our country, in Budapest. This is a great honour to us, since this event is a great opportunity for us to confess our faith in Christ and the Eucharist in front of the world; to make testimonies about our joy and Christian hope. To achieve this goal, we must start our preparations for the Congress, that is we have to renew ourselves in our faith. We have to make our decisions for Christ again and again, and we have to shape our deeds and whole life according to his will. For this we have to pray for the mercy, the encouragement and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In the preparation the symbol of the International Eucharistic Congress, the Mission Cross will be our help, which is now being ceremoniously dispatched on its country-wide tour. It is a special joy for us, that the first stations are our National Shrine in Máriapócs, and the city of Nyíregyháza. This cross, which was also the symbol of the Mission on the City of Budapest back in 2007, shall direct our attention to the work of the redemption, and to that love, which Jesus showed toward us, when he laid down his life for us on the cross. Our joy and only hope is in him, since he is the one, who gives us the true happiness and the eternal life. This faith gives us the faith to the work and struggles of our everyday lives, this helps us to turn to fellow people with selfless love. To gather strength in this faith, and to make testimony in this world about our joy, we shall ask the help of the Omnipotent and Merciful God, and the intercession of the saints and blessed, who are present through their relics in the Mission Cross!

Péter Card. Erdő

Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest

Primate of Hungary

Photo: Magyar Kurír