Hungary and Slovakia await Pope Francis

The Pope's visit to Budapest and Slovakia from the 12-15 September has been warmly welcomed with Slovakia's president, Zuzana Caputova, saying, "I believe that the presence of Pope Francis will be for all of us a message of reconciliation and hope in these difficult times.”

When Pope Francis announced he was going to both Budapest and Slovakia during the Sunday Angelus, Slovak pilgrims in St Peter's Square responded by waving the flag of their country and applauding loudly.

Our Eastern Europe correspondent Stefan Bos said those sentiments have been replicated back home in Slovakia where the President of the Slovak Bishops Conference greeted the news with great joy.

Slovakia's foreign minister, Ivan Korcok, described the trip as a “great honor for Slovakia," while the nation's president, Zuzana Caputova, said, "I believe that the presence of Pope Francis will be for all of us a message of reconciliation and hope in these difficult times,”

Our correspondent also said that the Pope's visit to both Hungary and Slovakia is an encouragement to the faithful following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen to Stefan Bos