Cardinal Péter Erdő Honored with International Award

In the chapel of the Hungarian Pontifical Institute of Rome, the “Pro Ecclesiae et Pontifice” section of the “Tu es Petrus” international Catholic honor was awarded to Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Vasarnap.hu reports.

The award, presented for the 17th time, was handed over by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and Honorary President of the international Catholic organization that created the award, and Gianluca Barile, director of the international catholic society “Tu es Petrus,” writes Vaticannews.va.

The Vatican portal reports that the chapel, decorated with frescoes by the Hungarian priest and painter Péter Prokop, who lived in Rome, hosted the prestigious event, which is the residential chapel of Hungarian priests who are pursuing their postgraduate studies. In the official laudation of the award, Cardinal Péter Erdő was praised for his

exemplary zeal in serving the Church, and in particular the last three Roman Popes – John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis – in the context of his priestly and episcopal mandate, which was entirely devoted to the sanctification of souls, the exercise of charity and the witness of the Gospel of the Risen Christ.”

At the ceremony, the Cardinal was presented with the first statue of Our Lady of Hope, patron saint of the town of Battipaglia, as well as the patron saint of the award. The award was founded 19 years ago in 2005 in this coastal town in southern Italy, near Salerno. The statue of Our Lady of Hope will be placed on the confessional altar of St Peter’s Basilica during the first eight days of the Holy Year 2025, as decided by the Holy See.

Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok congratulated Péter Erdő on his social media page:

I am proud of you and thank you for your friendship, Cardinal!”

Fact

Cardinal Péter Erdő has been Archbishop of the Esztergom-Budapest archdiocese and Primate of Hungary for almost 22 years, since 2003. The 72-year-old cardinal is one of the most prominent church representatives from Central and Eastern Europe, and has been talked about by church watchers as a potential candidate for the papacy for years.

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