Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received in his office Giuseppe Pezzanesi, Mayor of the town of Tolentino, Italy, and Andrea Carradori, prior of the Sacred Heart Brotherhood. The Hungarian government rebuilt the church of this small town in Italy after the earthquake two years ago, the Prime Minister’s press chief said.
In 2016 an earthquake struck the town of Tolentino in Central Italy, and all six churches of the town became structurally hazardous and had to be closed down. The head of the society maintaining the Church of the Sacred Heart and Saint Benedict of Nursia asked for help with the rebuilding of the church in a letter written to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Mr Havasi said.
The Hungarian government set aside HUF 150 million for the purpose, and the building was refurbished within a year. The church refurbished exclusively with Hungarian help was re-consecrated in December 2017 in the Italian town.
At the Friday meeting the Tolentino delegation thanked the government of Hungary and the Hungarian people for their help, stressing that from them they received not only verbal support, but also active assistance. They agreed that Europe’s Christian culture must be protected, and regarding the management of the migrant crisis the method of “providing help locally” should be adopted, the press chief highlighted.