The president of Hungary didn't expect the pope to greet him in Hungarian.
János Áder visited the Vatican to commemorate 100 years of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Holy See.
The president also invited the pope to inaugurate or conclude the International Eucharistic Congress, to take place in Budapest from Sept. 13-20.
He also gifted the pope this sculpture of a monk in prayer. It's called “Meditation,” and was made by Josef Damko.
The pope, in turn, gave the president a bas-relief of the project for a third colonnade for St. Peter's Square. He also gave him several of his pontifical documents.
“To build peace means to go against aggressivity.”
As per tradition, upon saying goodbye to the president and his wife, the pope asked them for their prayers.
JMB/CT
