Pope Francis arrived in Hungary on Friday morning for a three day visit amid controversy over the country’s position on Ukraine and the tough anti-migrant stance of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Hungarian officials say Francis’s three day pastoral visit was designed primarily for the Pontiff to meet the country’s Catholic community and encourage its members in their faith.
But with the war in Ukraine over Hungary’s border and Mr Orban’s position on migration, the first full visit since Francis became Pope 10 years ago is set to carry strong political overtones.
Hungary has refused to back military aid for Kyiv and maintained relations with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
“It will also be a journey to the centre of Europe, over which the icy winds of war continue to blow,” the Pope said ahead of his visit.
Mr Oban’s tough anti-migrant stance is in contrast to the 86-year-old pontiff’s compassion for all refugees.
After landing at Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc airport, Francis met with Mr President Katalin Novak and Mr Orban, and was then schedule to deliver a speech to Hungarian authorities and diplomats.
He has a chance to speak to Hungarian society and Europe at large in his final event Sunday, when he’ll address academic and cultural figures at Budapest’s Catholic University.
In between, Francis is set to meet with some of the 35,000 Ukrainian refugees who have remained in Hungary after 2.5 million fled across Ukraine’s border with Hungary’s early on in Russia’s invasion.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis would use his time in the heart of Europe to outline his vision of the continent’s future.
“It’s difficult to not think about the European Union and all of Europe,” Bruni said of the trip. He noted that the “passion” for Europe had perhaps faded over the years and that Francis aimed to revive “the Europe of peoples, with its own history and responsibility in the commitment to global peace.”
