(12 Sep 2021) Hungarian faithful expressed their joy on Sunday over the short visit of Pope Francis to the European nation.
The pontiff was starting a four-day visit to Central Europe - his first big international outing since undergoing intestinal surgery in July.
Francis, 84, appeared in good form during his short visit to Budapest, presiding over a lengthy Mass and standing and waving to crowds during a jaunt in his open-sided popemobile.
"I was really touched because the Pope's main message was love," Budapest resident, Kinga Kovacs, said following the Mass.
Zoltan Szkendovics traveled from the Hungarian city of Kecskemet to see the Pope and said he was also "touched" by the pontiff's messages.
"The Pope had a thought, which really touched me, saying 'Do not see what people show on the outside, but judge on their actions'," he said.
Francis only spent seven hours in Budapest before moving on Sunday afternoon to a four-day tour of neighboring Slovakia.
The lopsided itinerary suggested that Francis wanted to avoid giving Orban - the type of populist nationalist Francis frequently criticizes - the political boost that comes with hosting a pope for a proper state visit ahead of elections next spring.
Francis did meet Orban, whose refugee policies clash with the pope's call for welcome and integration of those seeking better lives in Europe.
Vatican and Hungarian officials have insisted Francis wasn't snubbing Hungary by staying for such a short time, noting that the Hungarian church and state only invited him to close out an international conference on the Eucharist on Sunday.
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