Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for international communications and relations, has confirmed that “everything is set” for Pope Francis’s upcoming visit to Hungary.
Following a meeting of the operative body in charge of preparations on Tuesday, the state secretary said making preparations was a state responsibility, though the pope’s visit would “basically be an apostolic event”. Organizers have been working “in line with decisions by the Hungarian Catholic Church and the papal delegation” in terms of selecting venues and planning programs, he added. Bishop András Veres, the head of the Conference of Hungarian Catholic Bishops, said the visit would be an “honor and joyful meeting” not only for Catholics but for the whole nation. He noted that Pope Francis could not visit outside of Budapest due to his fragile health, but organizers were “mobilizing the country” and inviting believers and priests to come to Budapest during the three-day visit starting on Friday.