Hungary welcomes Pope Francis as it seeks ally on Ukraine

Allies of Prime Minister Viktor Orban hail Pope as advocate of peace

Pope Francis shakes hands with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the start of his visit in Budapest. EPA

Pope Francis arrived for a three-day visit to Hungary on Friday, calling for "creative efforts" towards peace in Europe as the government in Budapest touts him as an ally on Ukraine.

The Pope met Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on a trip to meet fellow Catholics and "bear witness to the importance of building bridges between peoples".

But in an apparent rebuke to Mr Orban's populist government, he called for Europe to open "secure and legal corridors" for migrants and proclaimed "the need for openness towards others".

He urged a return to "European soul" of those who laid the groundwork for modern Europe after the Second World War, with an appeal for nations had to "look beyond national boundaries".

Hungary has been a dissenting voice in the EU by providing no arms to Ukraine and calling for peace talks with Russia, when many of the bloc's leaders say Moscow has shown no willingness to make concessions.

The Pope has described the war as an "absurd folly" but has held back from directly criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In his speech on Friday he called for "creative efforts for peace" to drown out "the soloists of war".

"Hungary shares the Pope's views on the need for peace," said Balasz Orban, a close adviser to the Prime Minister (no relation), as the Pope arrived on Friday.

Hungarian President Katalin Novak said the Pope could speak directly to both parties in the conflict.

"He is the one who can build bridges and break through the walls," she said.

Pope Francis, 86, will not stray outside the capital because of fragile health, the Hungarian government said. Priests have been invited to travel to Budapest.

The Pope is expected to meet some of the Ukrainian refugees who have remained in Hungary after 2.5 million fled across the border following Russia's invasion.

He has previously made veiled criticism of the Orban government's hardline stance on refugees and migration.

Mr Orban regularly speaks of defending "Christian Europe" from mass migration, while the Pope often asks for compassion for refugees.

But he last year thanked Hungary for taking in Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia.

The Kremlin-friendly Mr Orban has irked allies by opposing sanctions on Ukraine and presiding over what many see as an increasingly autocratic regime.

Last month he described Hungary and the Vatican as the only states sharing a "true commitment to peace within Europe".

He said on the eve of the Pope's visit that "in troubled times like ours, it is essential to remember what keeps us together".

The Pope will address Catholic clergy on Friday after his meetings with the Hungarian leadership.

On Saturday he plans to meet children, poor people, refugees members of the Greek Catholic community.

He will finish his visit with a mass in Budapest's Kossuth Lajos Square and meetings with academics on Sunday.

It is the Pope's 41st foreign trip and his first full visit to Hungary after a brief stopover in 2021. Pope John Paul II, who was from Poland, made trips in 1991 and 1996.