St. Stephen’s Basilica
The St. Stephen’s Basilica Co-Cathedral is a Neo-Renaissance-style basilica minor cathedral in the 5th district of Budapest, in Lipótváros. It is one of the most significant church buildings in Hungary, the co-cathedral of the Esztergom-Budapest Archdiocese next to the Esztergom Basilica.
The co-cathedral of St. Stephen’s Basilica (German: St.-Stephans-Basilica, also known as the parish church of Lipótváros) is a Neo-Renaissance-style basilica minor cathedral in the 5th district of Budapest, Lipótváros. It is one of the most significant church buildings in Hungary, the co-cathedral of the Esztergom-Budapest Archdiocese next to the Esztergom Basilica. The building is named after the Hungarian founding king, St. Stephen, whose right hand, the Holy Right, is kept here as a relic. With a height of 96 meters, it is one of the tallest buildings in the country and the second tallest in the capital after the Parliament.
St. Henry’s Bell rings to the Angels every day. On weekdays, at 5.30 pm, the Happy Gizella bell will call for Mass, and from 5.59 pm, the Gizella + Imre bell will ring. The Gizella bell also rings at 5.30pm on weekends, but the 3 smaller bells ring from 17.57. At 9.30 on Sunday, the Henrik bell will call for the Grand Mass. Then we can hear the 4 smallest bells for the announcement from 9.55. The two largest bells only ring on church holidays. The procession on August 20 is marked at length by the bell of St. Stephen.
The basilica was awarded the title of basilica minor in 1931 by XI. From Pope Pius, and the XXXIV. It was the center of events for the World Eucharistic Congress (the district was then called Szentistvánváros).
Since the consecration of the basilica, it has been the main arena of the cult of St. Stephen, which in 1971 was enriched with another aspect. At that time, a storage place suitable for the reception of the Holy Right was built in the former St. Leopold’s Chapel, now the Holy Right Chapel, in the Chapel behind the sanctuary. The St. Stephen’s Basilica has since been the final custody of the Holy Right, and the most important element of the cult is the carrying of the relic in the procession of the Holy Right year after year on the Feast of August 20th.