Order of Malta

Budapest, 20 August 2024. The traditional Holy Mass was celebrated this year, due to the uncertain weather, inside the Basilica of Saint Stephen by Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate of Hungary. The street procession was also cancelled, instead a litany was prayed, followed by the reading of the exhortations of St Stephen to his son Imre. Cardinal Péter Erdő then took the relic of the Holy Right Hand of St Stephen, blessed those in the Basilica, and carried it to the front door of the Co-Cathedral to bless the crowds gathered in the square.

The homily was delivered by Archbishop-Metropolitan Aurel Percă of Bucharest, President of the Romanian Bishops' Conference, who stressed the Christian statehood tradition of St Stephen in today's uncertain world.

Twenty-four members of the Hungarian Association of the Knights of Malta attended the ceremony. 300 volunteers and companions of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, from all over Hungary, were present in the square.

The Catholic on-line news portal Magyar Kurír published a detailed report, with the full text of Archbishop Aurel Percă's homily, and a rich photo gallery. To read it (Hungarian only), click here.

Photos: © Éva Trauttwein, Zita Merényi/ Magyar Kurír.