More than three meters high, the ‘Mission Cross’ contains relics of 34 saints and blesseds and a piece of Christ’s own Holy Cross.

Newsroom (September 8, 2021, 9:55 PM, Gaudium Press) On the occasion of the 52nd edition of the International Eucharistic Congress, the Esztergom Basilica, located in the Hungarian city of Budapest, received a Cross containing the relics of 34 saints and blesseds as well as a piece of the Holy Cross of Christ.

Measuring more than three meters high, the ‘Mission Cross’ was made by the craftsman Csaba Ozsvári in 2007. With bronze overlays, it features floral ornaments recalling “the themes used by goldsmiths at the time of the conquest of the Hungarian Homeland.”

Relics of the Holy Cross, of Saints and Blesseds

In the center of the cross is a silver box in which is the relic of the Holy Cross and the relics of different Hungarian saints or of Hungarian origin. They are: Saint Adalbert, Saint Gerard, Saint Emeric of Hungary, Saint Stephen I king of Hungary, Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary, Saint Margaret, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Thomas Becket, Saint Edwiges I of Poland, Saint Andrew Zorard, Saint Benedict of Zobor, Saint Martin and Saint Gisela of Bavaria.

The Cross also contains the relics of the following Blessed: Ladislao Batthyány-Strattmann, Guillermo Apor, Teodor Romzha, Zoltán Meszlényi, János Brenner, Pablo Pedro Gojdič, Basilio Hopko, János Scheffler, Charles of Habsburg, Anton Durcovici, Pope Innocent XI, Blesseds Anna Kolesárová, Sára Salkaházi, and the martyrs of Drina and the martyrs of Kassa.

Program of the International Eucharistic Congress

The opening of the International Eucharistic Congress was held in Heroes’ Square with a solemn Mass, accompanied by a thousand-voice choir. From September 6 to 10, Eucharistic celebrations, catechesis, exhibitions, and other cultural events take place at ‘Hungexpo in Pest’.

The Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Cardinal Péter Erdo, will celebrate a Holy Mass on September 11 at Kossuth Square. This will be followed by a luminous procession to Heroes’ Square. This is where, on September 12, the concluding Mass presided over by Pope Francis will be held. (EPC)

Compiled by Sarah Gangl