We have previously reported  on the renewal of the Franciscan church in Pasarét, 2nd district. The building complex was completed, and on 24 October, the renovated Franciscan church in Pasarét, the parish building and the new community house in Budapest were inaugurated.

The church of Pasarét was consecrated in 1934 by Cardinal Justinian Serédi, Archbishop of Esztergom. The building was last renovated in the 1980s. During the current works, according to the MTI, the side altars of the church and their glass windows were restored, a new sound system, an electrical system and the paving were renewed, among others.

 The new community house in Pasarét (Photo: MTI / Zsolt Szigetváry)

The ground floor of the newly built four-storey community house with a total of 700 square meters has a room for 120 people and a children's playground, a chapel and gym on the first floor, three religious rooms and a chat room on the second floor and the building's service rooms in the basement. In addition, the parish building was rebuilt and expanded. The construction was carried out with the support of the government for HUF 2.9 billion.

The quadrant, to the left, the wing of the building that houses the library (Photo: Franciscan Parish of Pasaréti)

"We Hungarians protect our Christian heritage, we still consider our Christian culture to be the basis of our social and spiritual life," said Minister of Finance Mihály Varga at the Sunday inauguration of the renovated Franciscan church, parish and new community house in Pasarét, Budapest. In his greeting, the Minister pointed out that the renovation of church buildings is not only good for the church, but also contributes to the renewal of villages and towns, as well as to the improvement of the quality of life of the people living there, writes MTI.

He stressed that the government considers it important to support faith, it is at its heart to preserve the Christian roots, culture and values of Europe. Therefore, it helps churches in their public duties and community building ministry. Mihály Varga pointed out that while the churches had not previously received the support they should have by law, more than 3,000 churches have been renovated since 2010 and almost 150 have been built in Hungary and in the Hungarian-populated parts of the Carpathian Basin with government support. The number of students in church kindergartens, primary and secondary schools has also doubled, so that already 220 thousand, every seventh student attends a church institution.

This year, the Hungarian church renovation program was launched, under which the renovation of 1,400 mainland and 400 foreign churches will begin and continue with the support of the government, he added, noting that the government also supports church programs, pilgrimages, religious and scout camps.

The interior of the Franciscan church in Pasarét before the Mass held on the day of its inauguration (Photo: MTI / Zsolt Szigetváry)

Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, who blessed the buildings, emphasized that as new spaces are built and opened, “so must our souls open”. He said building a community house is “part of a big process,” in the diocese and across the country they have been striving to create the physical opportunities for community life so that believers can meet not only in the church. “Common programs, personal acquaintance, make us a community that can think and act together in the light of faith and love of Christ,” he said.

Péter Erdő warned that in the richer part of the world many church buildings and many institutions of the church had lost their original function, because the generation of founders was followed by a generation that loved community and culture, but no longer considered faith important. The cardinal asked the believers in Pasarét to put their programs together in the new building of their community life in such a way as to facilitate the "transmission of faith, the effective exercise of the factious love."

The renovated Franciscan church in Pasarét on the day of its inauguration (Photo: MTI / Zsolt Szigetváry)

The belfry, to the left of the church (Photo: Pasaréti Franciscan Parish)

Among others, President János Áder and his wife, Anita Herczegh, Miklós Soltész, State Secretary for Ecclesiastical and Ethnic Relations of the Prime Minister's Office, Attila Fülöp, State Secretary for Social Affairs of the Ministry of Human Resources and Gergely Őrsi, 2nd district mayor attended the festive Mass.

The Pasarét bus terminal with the church in 1940 (Photo: Fortepan / Image ID: 44841) 

Source: MTI

Cover photo: The renovated Franciscan church in Pasarét on the day of its handover (Photo: MTI / Zsolt Szigetváry)