On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén received in his office Francesco Patton, Custos of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land who is currently in Hungary for a visit. The meeting was also attended by Franciscan Provincial Márton Benedek Dobszay, Jakab Várnai, Rector of the Sapientia College of Theology of Religious Orders, and Tristan Azbej, Minister of State for Helping Persecuted Christians and the Implementation of the Hungary Helps Programmes.

During the meeting, the Custos provided an overview of the current situation of Christians in the Middle East, and introduced the mission of Franciscans caring for the sacred shrines of the Holy Land with a view to preserving Christian communities and providing spiritual assistance. Francesco Patton recalled that the history of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land dates back to the 13th century. The organisation’s mission is to look after and preserve the most sacred places of the presence of Jesus on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. Over the centuries, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land has developed a network of social, educational and cultural activities with a view to preserving and reviving the faith and traditions of local communities.

At the meeting, Mr Semjén highlighted that Hungary is helping Christian institutions in the Holy Land recommended for support by the Custody, with the development of a school and parish complex in Cana of Galilee, and with creating an exhibition presenting Christian aspects of the Holy Land. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed at the meeting that Hungary regards the survival of Christian communities in the Middle East as important. In recent years, the Government of Hungary has provided considerable support for threatened Christian communities through the Hungary Helps Programme which was launched in 2016.

(MTI)