The most significant Hungarian Christian response to Pope Francis’ Economy of Francesco initiative and his peace mission has been the launching of the ‘Noon Bell – Pulsatio Meridiana, the Voice of Oikophilia’ regenerative economic platform (PM), which is planned to be listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
Father Csaba Böjte calls for prayer and unity among the peoples of the Carpathian Basin for peace, and the young people he has raised respond by participating in the ‘Pulsatio Meridiana’ (the Latin name for ‘Noon Bell’) regenerative economic platform, expected to be listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange. This is their response to Pope Francis’ initiative titled Economy of Francesco (EoF), which aims to build a planetary economy of peace.
Csaba Böjte announced back in March that in the current state of war, he considers it his spiritual leadership mission
to connect the peoples of the Carpathian Basin through the celebration of the Noon Bell.
Not only does the persona of John Hunyadi and the victory at Belgrade fill Hungarians with pride, but also the Serbs and Romanians, Brother Csaba explained. He stated that he firmly believes that instead of tensions, people could ‘transform this region into a fairy garden’ together, building on their common Christian heritage. He chose the third Saturday of July as the official date of the celebration.
For Csaba Böjte believes that being a spiritual leader is not sufficient today. He is convinced that the material and the spiritual must be combined and integrated, otherwise neither peace nor prosperity is achievable. The celebration of the Noon Bell cannot be limited to religious and cultural aspects in his view: there is also a need for economic renewal.
When Pope Francis visited Hungary between 28 and 30 April this year, he issued a call to all Hungarians to be ‘open doors,’ saying: ‘Let us be open and welcoming to help Hungary grow on the path of fraternity and peace.’ The pontifex also requested that we build bridges of dialogue and trust among nations in Europe. This call came exactly four years after the pope urged young people worldwide to be ‘open doors’ towards a future that is inclusive, saying, ‘The future enters into the world through you. I ask you to be the main actors of this transformation... I ask you to build the future, to work for a better world.’
Young people from various countries responded in large numbers to this initiative and created the Economy of Francesco (EoF) network. The Hungarian people responded to both calls by joining Pope Francis’ peace mission, initiating dialogue with the parties involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and launching the ‘Noon Bell – Pulsatio Meridiana, the Voice of Oikophilia’ regenerative economic platform (PM), which is expected to be listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange. This platform serves the Earth, all life, families, local communities, and peace among nations and significant ownership shares are held by the young people raised by the Csaba Böjte-led St Francis Foundation, as well as the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The connection between PM and EoF is further strengthened by the person of Saint John of Capistrano, who played a major role in both the victorious alliance built around Hunyadi a
and the establishment of the medieval Franciscan civic lending bank of Monti di Pietà.
The symbolic laying of the foundation stone for PM took place in Budapest’s city centre after Pope Francis’ Mass on 30 April, Sunday, while on 1 July, in Vajdahunyad (Hunedoara, Romania) the actual movement was launched. Starting from 15 July, the Day of the Noon Bell, events will be held for a week in the Balaton Uplands during Böjte’s Balaton Star Path mission tour.
During the event on 30 April, Böjte, in the presence of nearly a hundred children, blessed the first product jointly created by the platform. It is a bread made in Sokorópátka (based on a 15th-century recipe and a traditional bread from Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfântu Gheorghe in Szeklerland). It will be sold under the name ‘Noon Bell’. The aim of PM is to harmonise the interests of the real economy and financial markets with the mission of the state and civil society, and it is achieving this through its own ‘economic pact’ made with Pope Francis (following the example of last year’s meeting in Assisi). PM draws attention to a historical shift: while the alliance of the peoples in the region over 500 years ago
focussed on waging a war against the enemies of Christianity, today there is a need for an alliance aimed at building a new economy.
According to the strategic director of PM, Gyula Pál, this alliance, utilising common Christian roots, aims to build resilience and renewal.
It is an economy that opposes the proliferation of weapons, especially the most destructive ones.
According to the text of PM’s ‘economic pact’, PM only accepts economic partners who serve the basic needs of future generations, in the food, energy, education sectors, aiming at the physical, emotional, individual and collective well-being and regeneration of their customers. PM promotes a so-called circular economy, an economy that cares for the created world and does not exploit it. Natural and social capital are what every society depends on, and therefore they cannot be considered external, the pact declares. ‘Monocapitalism must go, and multicapitalism must come, but a realistic approach requires using the existing financial system (such as stock exchanges) and ethically minded corporations as springboards and growth platforms for the development of the new economy.’
According to the signatories of the pact, the desired new economy is one that serves the human person, the family, and life, respecting every woman, man, child, the elderly, and especially the weakest and most vulnerable individuals. ‘It is an economy where care replaces rejection and indifference, one that leaves no one behind, building a society where the stones rejected by the ruling mentality become cornerstones. It recognises and protects safe and dignified work for everyone, uniting young adults coming from broken families and orphanages with those coming from Hungarian universities as shareholders and participants in the successful regenerative economic enterprise under the banner of the Economy of Francesco. It serves as a catalyst for natural and social renewal, representing a truly innovative and practical approach that can serve as a model for achieving a flourishing transition to a regenerative and circular economy through the seamless integration of local and global levels of action.’
The most significant Hungarian Christian response to Pope Francis’ Economy of Francesco initiative and his peace mission has been the launching of the ‘Noon Bell – Pulsatio Meridiana, the Voice of Oikophilia’ regenerative economic platform (PM), which is planned to be listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
Ádám Bráder graduated from the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University in 2021 as an English major specializing in English in the Media and Applied Linguistics. From 2017, he worked as an assistant editor at TV2’s news programme. After graduating, he continued his work as an online journalist, which led to him joining the Hungarian Conservative team in 2022.
