Hungarian saints St. Stephen and St. Elizabeth of the House of Arpad as exemplary people who truly met Jesus, Pope Francis said in his speech at the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress on Heroes' Square in Budapest on Sunday.

Turning to the believers, Pope Francis said that „the encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist should transform us as He transformed the great and courageous saints revered as St. Stephen and St. Elizabeth.”

“Just like them, we should not be content with little: let us not settle with a faith which only contains rituals and repetitions,” he added.

The pope remarked that the International Eucharistic Congress is the end of a journey, but „let it be even more of a starting point.” Pope Francis began his homily with a question: he asked what God meant to people, who God was to each individual. The exact answer should not be given on the basis of the catechism but on our personal lives, Francis said.

He emphasized that the Eucharist reminds us who God is, not with words but showing us in a tangible way that „God is the broken bread, the love nailed to the cross and bestowed on others.”

Pope Francis repeated several times that the cross has never been fashionable; it was not that in the old days and it is not that today, although it brings „inner healing.” He saw that the „debate and struggle over the cross” was nothing more than a clash between the logic of God and the logic of the world.

„God’s logic is humble love. God’s way lies far from all kinds of complusion or exhibitionism and does not seek triumph; it always strives to work for the betterment of others, going as far as self-sacrifice. On the other side, however, there is „human thinking”, a mundane logic, which which insists on respect and prerogatives, seeks favourable judgment and success.

Pope Francis added, „there is no difference between who is religious and who is not. The essential difference is between the true God and the god of our self.” “It does us good to engage in adoration before the Eucharist (..) We should make time for it.” The pope concluded the mass with reciting the Sunday noon Angelus prayer.