HIS-Press-Service, 1980 (5. évfolyam, 16-18. szám)

1980-11-01 / 18. szám

-Press-Service--------Special Topic: Religion and Church in Hungary --------------------------- No. 18 - Vienna, November 1980

Consecration by the Pope of the Hungarian Chapel in the Crypt

of St. Peter's Basilica- CONCLUSION OF HUNGARY'S THOUSAND-YEAR JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS -For almost ten years, Hungary's Church has held celebrations connected with the thousand-year jubilee. The high point of these celebrations took place at a special Mass celebrated in Rome on 8 October of this year at which the recently completed chapel in honor of "Our Beloved Lady of Hungary" in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica was consecrated. The Mass, which was celebrated by the Pope himself, was also attended by Hungary's Cardinal Primate, László Lékai, the members of the Hungarian Bishops Conference, and many Hungarian pilgrims who had come to Rome from both Hungary and all other parts of the world. Secretary of State Imre Miklós, who is the president of the State Office for Church Affairs, and János Szita, the ambassador to Italy of the Hungarian Peoples Republic, were also present.

The Hungarian chapel seems in every way to be a complete success. The Pope expressed his praise for the exceptional artistic quality of the room. After mentioning the birth and baptism of Hungary's first king, St. Stephen, as well as the birth of St. Gellert, who was both a bishop and a martyr, John Paul mentioned in his sermon commemorating the jubilee celebration that "the message of the chapel's consecration is clear. The chapel stands as an eternal pledge and witness. Through the suggestive power of art, it is a sign of the constant summons issued by moments of history which retain their actuality in the national consciousness of present and future generations."

A New Chapel Near the Grave of St. Peter

During the reign of Pope Silvester II, a house for Hungarian pilgrims in Rome was set up by Hungary's first King, St. Stephen,near the original cathedral erected by Constantine. The building housing the pilgrim quarters was razed in 1776 to make way for the sacristy of the new basilica. The idea and desire to replace the pilgrim quarters with a Hungarian chapel in St.Peter's stems from Hungarians involved in pastoral care in Western Europe. As Apostolic Visitator of the Hungarians living in Austria, Stefan László, the bishop of the Diocese of Eisenstadt, appealed to Hungary's Cardinal Primate, László