Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, accompanied by Deputy PM Zsolt Semjén, is scheduled to visit both Vatican City State and Rome on Monday, October 27th.
During the programme, Orbán will be received by Pope Leo XIV in a private audience. He will also hold working talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and meet with Fra’ John Timothy Dunlap, Grand Master of the Order of Malta.
Orbán will then hold talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher. This will be their first personal meeting since the election of Pope Leo XIV.
Digging into the available Italian press reports, including from journalist Francesca De Benedetti, helped europeanconservative.com to break the story on Saturday night. The Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office has now confirmed this information.
Viktor Orbán last met with the head of the Catholic Church in the Vatican on December 4th, 2024, when he was received by the late Pope Francis. The topics of discussion included the war in Ukraine and suitable peace efforts, Hungary’s European Union presidency, and support for families and young people. According to the PM,
Since the beginning of the war, the Vatican and Hungary have both believed in peace. Peace is now within reach. I came to the Holy Father because we must seize this opportunity for peace now. We will need both the Holy Father’s prayers and the Vatican’s invaluable diplomatic experience.
Italian newspapers are also reporting that the Hungarian PM will meet with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Monday afternoon. Orbán’s political director revealed the expected topics of discussion on his social media account, writing:
The two most important topics on the table are the future of Europe and peace.
The bilateral talks between the two prime ministers will most likely focus on the situation in Ukraine and the promotion of peace agreements. Cooperation between the Hungarian and Italian government heads could be significant in this regard, as Orbán and Meloni are the two European leaders closest to U.S. president Donald Trump.
.jpg){kind=link}