On October 8, the thanksgiving Mass on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the consecration of the Hungarian chapel (Communio Sanctorum) will be celebrated by the Primate of Hungary, Cardinal Péter Erdő, Metropolitan of Esztergom-Budapest, and will be attended by pilgrims from Hungary.

As you enter the Lower Basilica and walk towards St. Faustina’s Chapel, the Communio Sanctorum Chapel will be on the right. This Chapel was consecrated during a Hungarian pilgrimage on 9 October 2004 by Cardinal Péter Erdó, Primate of Hungary, and Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków. Its interior decoration is the gift of the Church in Hungary, and that is why it is also known as the Hungarian Chapel. Its side walls are decorated with a splendid series of mosaics depicting over 60 saints and blesseds from Hungary, Poland, and other European countries who have contributed some of the finest chapters in the history of the Church. They are grouped in separate clusters, and each cluster is inscribed with one of the Eight Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, giving  a commentary on their lives. This procession of saints is headed by Mary, the Mother of God. Over the marble altar there is a mosaic showing the Merciful Jesus and St. Faustina, circumscribed with the words Jesus, I trust in You in several languages. In front of the altar there is a reliquary in the shape of a right hand containing a relic of St. Stephen, Patron Saint of Hungary. The Chapel’s interior decoration was designed and made by the Hungarian artist Father László Puskás, who is a Uniate Greek Catholic priest, and his wife.