His Holiness Pope Tawadros II prayed the Liturgy of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Assumption of the Body of the Virgin Mary, in the Church of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, and the members of the accompanying delegation, a number of fathers, bishops, priests, monks, and large numbers of people participated in it.
This was on the last days of his visit to Hungary, which lasted four days, and he delivered the sermon of the liturgy, at the beginning of which he congratulated the attendees on the feast of the Virgin Mary, then he talked about three situations in which the Virgin Mary spoke, focusing on important lessons that we can learn, and these words, are

1- “Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38): This is what calls us to have a spirit of obedience.
2- “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5).
That is, we live in spirit by the commandment to be true Christians.
3- “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)

That is, to have the spirit of wisdom, which makes us control our tongues and know when to speak and when to keep the words in our hearts.
H.H. concluded by addressing his children: “Egypt greets you!” H.H. advised them: “Take care of raising your children at home and in the church.”

His Holiness met this afternoon, Mr. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, at the headquarters of the Council of Ministers in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, in the presence of Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, Ambassador of Egypt to Hungary, a number of members of the embassy members, and the delegation accompanying His Holiness.
The Prime Minister expressed his happiness at accepting the Pope’s invitation to visit Hungary on this occasion, stressing his country’s interest in opening up to the East and consolidating relations with its countries, especially since Egypt is one of the most important countries in the Middle East.

For his part, His Holiness expressed his thanks for the warm welcome and hospitality and the appreciation of the State of Hungary for the Coptic Church and for granting him an honorary doctorate from the University of Bazman Peter.
His Holiness the Pope said: “The East is the heart of the world and the West is the mind; the East is the origin of religions, arts and philosophies, while the West is science, development and inventions.”
About Egypt, His Holiness said: “President El Sisi presents a new concept of the relationship of citizenship to all Egyptians,” pointing out that Egypt has contributed In the face of illegal immigration to Europe.

His Holiness the Pope went to Budapest Franz Liszt International Airport to board the plane back to Egypt. H.H. was seen off at the airport by Mr. Shamyen Gullit, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, the Egyptian Ambassador there, Mohamed El-Shennawy, and members of the Egyptian embassy.
His Holiness arrived home after a four-day trip.

This page is also available in: العربية