ACI Prensa staff, August 20, 2024 / 5:06 p.m.

Cardinal Peter Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest in Hungary, said faith is the most important thing in life and something he learned from his parents, most clearly during the years of communist rule in the European country.

In an interview with Vatican Radio and Vatican News ahead of the feast of Saint Stephen of Hungary on August 20, the cardinal recalled how he learned the faith from his parents.

“First of all, it was my parents, our family, because we not only prayed at home, talked about religious holidays, went to church together, but my father also taught us catechesis,” says the 72-year-old Hungarian cardinal.

“And then we learned that my father, who was a lawyer, could not practice his profession because he was considered too religious. And my mother, who was a teacher, could not teach because she was considered too religious,” he continued.

“This is how we saw what is most important in life. Of course, faith came first. And so my parents did not experience this in a tragic way, but in a natural way, knowing that God is the most important thing and that religion is the most important thing in our lives,” the archbishop stressed.

After World War II, Hungary became part of the communist bloc led by the Soviet Union. In 1949, the Hungarian People’s Republic was founded, a totalitarian system that also viewed the Church as an enemy and lasted until 1989: 50 years of communism in a country with deep Christian roots.

In the interview, Erdö also noted: “If faith is the most important thing in life, then serving the faith of others, transmitting the faith, teaching the faith and especially liturgy as service are the greatest things in life.”

“The most important and useful thing one can do is to bring salvation to others. This is my main motivation, which I felt as a boy. And so I gradually came to the decision to enter the seminary,” he said. Erdö was ordained a priest in 1975.

Prayer life

“My prayer life began when I was in high school. I always began the day with the Hymn of Charity from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and ended it with the Te Deum. Even then, prayer framed my day,” the cardinal said when asked how he is living this year of prayer in preparation for the Jubilee Year of 2025.

“My spiritual father recommended that I always meditate a little on the Holy Scriptures every day, for no more than 10 minutes, on a passage from the New Testament. This was also a great help in finding my way in life,” he continued.

The prelate shared that during this year of prayer, “there are personal and communal programs in the diocese for the rosary, including every first Saturday at 10 a.m. And there is a prayer, a rosary in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica, in the square, where people kneel and pray the rosary, which is a great witness before the world,” he explained.

Referring to Saint Stephen, Erdö noted that the monarch “consecrated his crown and his country to Our Lady. Hungary was, according to tradition, the first country to be consecrated to Our Lady, and accordingly Our Lady is also venerated in Hungary as the patron saint of our people and our country.”

“It is a joy to know that there are many other peoples who have also chosen the Virgin Mary as their patron saint, because the same mother can have several children,” the cardinal noted.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It was translated and adapted by CNA.