The visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Hungary

Time was the biggest enemy throughout the papal visit, which was most apparent in the construction of the Arena site, where the organizers had less than 24 hours to complete the entire construction process. This was further exacerbated by the fact that on April 29 the venue hosted the HVG Job Fair, which by nature required a completely different arrangement than the Papal Holy Mass. In less than 24 hours, the stands of the HVG Job Fair had to be dismantled, concurrently with the construction of the main stage and the bleacher seats around it.

The visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Hungary in April 2023 incorporated numerous innovative elements despite only six weeks of preparation. The three-day visit featured several venues and six programs, each with unique technical demands. Kossuth Square: Hosted the Grand Mass, requiring three weeks of construction. Landscaped gardens were protected with coverings to prevent damage. 1000 sqm of LED walls, 500 lights and 550 sound systems ensured optimal visibility and sound quality. Papp László Sports Arena: Featured a Christian rock concert and a mass for 12,000 attendees, utilizing Robe lights for dynamic lighting. Basilica: Addressed accessibility challenges by moving the mass to the square. Rose Square: Facilitated a meeting with people with disabilities. Other Venues: Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Carmelite Monastery, and the airport for arrival/departure logistics. Attention to solar paths ensured the altar’s placement provided sun protection. High-coverage sound systems and video walls enhanced pilgrim experiences. Specific ramps ensured Pope Francis's accessibility, demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity. These innovations highlighted the event's success.

The first and one of the most important tasks in planning the layout of the site was to ensure that as many pilgrims as possible could see the Holy Father live, close-up and ‘at arm’s reach’. While other countries had 1 year to prepare for the papal visit, Hungary had less than 2 months available for this. This required very intense and dedicated work from the security workers that provided personal protection for the Holy Father, the law enforcement, church and state contributors and organizers, as well as the involved volunteers. Thousands of people worked hard to make the visit of the Holy Father a real success.

During the three-day visit, Pope Francis participated in 11 programs and gave speeches at 6 venues. More than 100,000 people had the opportunity to meet the Pope, most of them attended the Sunday mass in Kossuth Square, but there were 11,000 people who listened to his sermon in the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena. Saint Stephen’s Basilica – over 2000 people Church of Saint Elizabeth of the House of Árpád in Budapest – about 1800 people Papp László Budapest Sports Arena – over 11,000 people Kossuth Lajos Square – over 10,000 people Pázmány Péter Catholic University – over 500 people In total, more than 2000 people (priests, artists, dancers, singers, etc.) participated in the stage performances at the different venues. Thanks to the media activities of MTVA, European news agencies were able to receive the signal free of charge, and hundreds of millions of people around the world could follow the events in Budapest.

The goal was to bring the Pope as close as possible to his flock during his visit to Hungary. The MÁV-VOLÁN and GYSEV offered free return tickets nationwide for pilgrims coming to the youth event in the Papp László Sports Arena on April 29 and to the Papal Mass in Kossuth Square held on April 30. The streets of Budapest were not hermetically sealed on the papal itinerary, which required increased security, but it gave people the opportunity to greet the Holy Father as he was moving from one venue to the other. The public media provided continuous coverage of the 3-day papal visit: there were 6 major live broadcasts and documentaries on the sites of the papal visit, which introduced viewers also to the secrets of how the event was organized.

A Great emphasis was placed on preserving the flora and the planted gardens during the construction of the huge altar, the stages and bleacher seating. This was achieved by minimizing ground and soil load in the relevant areas when designing these structures, but at the same time we had to maintain the highest safety and construction structural standards.