On May 11th in the University Church, Budapest we celebrated the feast of Blessed Sr. Sara Salkaházy. It has become a tradition to commemorate her with Holy Mass followed by a prayer service, which is led by our community.
This year however, this prayer evening also marked the opening of the centennial events organized by the Hungarian District of our Society to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our foundation. The Society of the Sisters of Social Service was founded here in Budapest on May 12, 1923. It is a special gift that Sisters from around the world can be present for these events.
We celebrated our 100th Birthday. The Society of the Sisters of Social Service was founded on May 12th 1923 in Budapest, Hungary. The Sisters of the Hungarian District put together a wonderful program, which was attended by Sisters from all over the world.
It has been our tradition to read communally the Minutes of the founding meeting every year on the day of the anniversary at 7:35 AM. Today, we gathered all in Christ the King chapel, which used to be the secret gathering place of the community during the underground years, to read the Minutes. Then the names of all the Sisters have been read who have gone before us. This deeply moving commemoration was continued with the celebration of the Eucharist in which we all prayed our prayer of vows together. The mass was followed by a festive reception with a surprise: a huge birthday cake.
Later in the morning we went on a pilgrimage throughout Budapest to visit the places linked to our origins and history. The heavy rain did not deter us at all!
In the afternoon a Conference on the History of the Sisters of Social Service took place in the Sapientia College of Theology of the Religious Orders, entitled: “It is the Spirit who Creates New Structures” After the opening words and greeting given by the Vice Rector, the Hungarian District Moderator, and the General Moderator, presentations on the history, the charism, and the role of the Society in the church were delivered by Cardinal Dr. Péter Erdő, Bishop Dr. János Székely, Dr. András Fejérdy, historian, and Rev. Dr. Péter Roska, Pastor.
This wonderfully rich day ended with a festive vesper in the Inner City Church of Our Lady of the Assumption.
