''Luctuosissimi eventus'', issued October 28, 1956, is an

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

urging public prayers for

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

for the people of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The Pope is "deeply moved by the sorrowful events which have befallen the people of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and especially of our beloved

, which is now being soaked in blood by a shocking massacre. And not only is our heart moved, but so too are the hearts of all men who cherish the rights of civil society, the dignity of man, and the liberty which is due to individuals and to nations". He appeals for public prayer, for an end of the carnage, and for peace and for freedom. He indicates that violence will not create a lasting order and freedom can never be extinguished by external force. The Pope recalls his visit to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, where he took part in an international Eucharistic Congress as personal representative of

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He is sure that the same faith in and love for God still inspire the hearts of the Hungarian people even though the champions of

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

attempt with every possible means to despoil their minds of the religion of their forefathers. He asks all true Christians throughout the world to join in prayer with their oppressed Hungarian brothers. He especially asks children worldwide for a prayer crusade. ** We have no doubt that Christians everywhere, in cities, towns, and villages, wherever the light of the Gospel shines, and especially boys and girls, will most willingly respond to Our entreaties to which yours will be added. Pope Pius XII is convinced that through prayer a

peaceful revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

will happen, not only for the "Hungarian people who are tortured by such great suffering and drenched in so much blood" but for all people of Eastern Europe, who are deprived of religious and civil liberty. They will be able, with the inspiration and help of God, which is sought in so many prayers, and through the intercession of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, to resolve these problems peacefully in justice and right order, with due respect for the rights of "God and Jesus Christ, our King."''Luctuosissimi eventus'', 8

References

Encyclical ''Luctuosissimi eventus'' of Pius XII, 28 October 1956.
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Notes

1956 documents Persecution of Catholics during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII Encyclicals of Pope Pius XII Catholic Church in Hungary Hungarian Revolution of 1956 October 1956 1956 in Christianity {{RC-document-stub