Pope Francis to visit Hungary in September, cardinal says

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The cardinal of Hungary’s Roman Catholic Church says Pope Francis will travel to Budapest in September where he will participate in the closing mass of a multiday, international Catholic gathering. The cardinal told Hungary’s news agency on Monday that the pope was originally scheduled to appear at the 2020 International Eucharistic Congress, an annual gathering of Catholic clergy and laypeople, but it was canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Francis will instead visit the Congress in Budapest on Sept. 12. Budapest’s liberal mayor said it was “a pleasure and an honor” to host Francis, and praised the pope’s progressive record on climate change and the environment.