An international conference and exhibition was dedicated today to the life of Cardinal József Mindszenty, Prince Primate of Hungary, marking the 120th anniversary of his birth. A number of prominent international speakers spoke at the event, including Apostolic Nuncio Alberto Bottari de Castello, as well as British columnist John O’Sullivan, who also served as speechwriter to Margaret Thatcher.

In his opening speech, President of Hungary János Áder stressed that late Cardinal József Mindszenty had always spoken out for the freedom and truth; he had made every effort to help the outcast and underprivileged, and never faltered when it came to defending the honour of Hungary. His personal example and intellectual and moral legacy deserve to be held among the most serious moral landmarks of the nation, he added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Christian Democratic Party leader Zsolt Semjén also paid homage to the cardinal and, on behalf of the government, urged his beatification.

Mindszenty was appointed Bishop of Veszprém by Pope Pius XII in 1944. Protesting against the Nazi genocide, he was arrested in late 1944 and kept in prison in Sopronkőhida. Following World War II, he was appointed Archbishop of Esztergom, then Cardinal.

In late 1948, he was arrested illegally by the communist authorities and sentenced to life imprisonment under false charges of conspiracy, espionage and financial abuse. The sentence brought protests from the Pope and leaders of western powers. In April 1949 it was also criticised by the UN General Assembly.

The physical and mental trials and tribulations of his prison years came to an end after the 1956 revolution broke out. Giving a radio speech on November 3, Mindszenty stressed the idea of national independence and democracy. On November 4, 1956, the first day of Soviet intervention, the cardinal took refuge in the US Embassy in Budapest. Threatened with arrest, he was unable to leave the building until 1971.

Mindszenty was then allowed to leave Hungary under an agreement between Hungarian authorities and the Vatican. The cardinal first went to Rome and then settled in Vienna. He died in 1975 and was buried in Mariazell, Austria.

After Hungary's Supreme Court declared him innocent in May 1990, his mortal remains were returned to Hungary and reburied in the crypt of the Esztergom Basilica.

(Prime Minister’s Office)