In Hungary, presidents tend to change more frequently than prime ministers. In 2022, Viktor Orbán was elected for his fourth consecutive term.
He has met with Pope Francis on several occasions. They first met briefly in 2016 at a meeting with members of the International Network of Catholic Legislators.
The second time was in 2021, during Pope Francis' quick visit to Hungary to close the International Eucharistic Congress. The Pope met with Orbán, the Deputy Prime Minister and the President. At the time, Prime Minister Orbán had publicly declared his critical stance against pro-LGBTQ+ laws and the reception of migrants. But during the meeting, they discussed other topics.
POPE FRANCIS
The President spoke. The topic that occupied a majority of the meeting was ecology.
Migration, no, that's not what was discussed.
The most recent meeting between Pope Francis and Prime Minister Orbán was at the Vatican in 2022. There, they did speak about migration. The invasion of Ukraine had just begun and Hungary had accepted over 400,000 refugees.
Besides migration, it has not yet been confirmed what issues Pope Francis will discuss with Hungarian politicians, both behind closed doors and in his first public address to the country's leaders.
PA/JRB
TR: AT
