Farewell to Pope Francis
Text: defence.hu / MTI | Photo: Sztaniszláv Horváth, Noémi Bruzák/MTI, Tünde Rácz archive | 16:01 April 28, 2025250,000 people, including high-level church and secular officials, bid farewell to Pope Francis in Vatican City. Meanwhile, in Budapest, on the day of Pope Francis’s burial, Hungary’s flag was raised and then lowered to half-mast in solemn circumstances, accompanied by military honours, in front of the Parliament building in Kossuth Square.
The government ordered a day of national mourning for the funeral ceremony to express national solidarity and respect. The commemoration was also attended by Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Lieutenant General Ferenc Kajári, Deputy Chief of the HDF Defence Staff.
At the event, the military band played both the National Anthem and the Szózat. Based on the order by the government, black flags had to be placed on state and local governmental institutions and public buildings for the day of national mourning.
A Hungarian national delegation also participated in Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony in Vatican City, headed by President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok and including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén.
According to his last will, Pope Francis was laid to rest in the left aisle of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. On the simple, unadorned tomb of the late head of church, an enlarged replica of his pectoral cross and the inscription “Franciscus” can be seen.
With Pope Francis’s burial, a nine-day mourning (novenidales) has begun, which will last until 4 May.
