During the years 2004-2005 there was a vigorous debate in the European Union whether to insert the famous                                                    term “Christian roots” into the preamble of the future constitution. Unfortunately this debate amounted to

nothing. Yet, we would be unable to imagine the history of Europe while ignoring its Christian influence. Europe

would have no precise identity and we would never know Europe with its people as we know it today: proud to

be vanguard of progress for the rest of humanity.

This seems particularly true for one of these European nations, Hungary that has recently joined the European

Union. Already in the last decades of the first millennium while the conversion of the Magyar tribes was taking

place, their first king was approved and consolidated by the Pope in Rome. From that moment, thanks to the

farsightedness and holiness of its leader, Stephen, the history, politics and cultural identity of Hungary

developed with the advent of Christianity that has since influenced its society even to this day.

A Crown Presented by the Pope
Before the year 1000 the Magyar peoples were united as a tribe and lived on the land between the Ural

Mountains and the river Don. Under the leadership of house Árpád, they occupied Pannonia. They were called

On-Ogur, (meaning Ten Arrows), from which the name Hungary was derived. For many years they lived with

fierce racial and bloody skirmishes along the borders with Southern Germany and Northern Italy, until they

were defeated in 995 at Lechfeld in Bavaria by Otto I (who then became emperor). Subsequently he helped

them change from being fierce warlike natives to a race of peace-loving farmers and shepherds. The Bishop

of Passau (Bavaria) then sent some missionaries and with their advent Christianity came too. Thanks to the

interest of the Bishop of Prague (St. Adalbert), that same year Istvan (Stephen) barely twenty years old

married Gisella a Bavarian princess, the sister of Henry II, duke of Bavaria (who would later become emperor

and… a saint). Gisella was no ordinary woman. She possessed rare political and diplomatic qualities. She was

also noted for her integrity and holiness (in fact she is a ‘Blessed’). She would turn out to be an excellent collaborator and councillor of that young nation.
At that time the concept of spiritual and temporal power was not yet clear and the two heads were the emperor and the Pope. At that time Stephen was also looking for allies and so he turned to the Pope. He came to Rome with two objectives: to give his approval to the planting of the Catholic Church in his own country and to receive his endorsement as king of Hungary. Pope Sylvester II accepted both conditions and sent him a beautiful and precious royal crown surmounted by a cross. On Christmas night in the year 1000 Stephen was crowned the first king of Hungary and he wore the precious papal gift of the royal crown. “For Hungarians, this ancient crown is the symbol of their national identity, of their history and of the thousand-year-old culture of their kingdom and, adorned with the title of “Sacred Crown”, it is venerated as a relic by the people. May the deep spiritual meaning help the members of the present generation to build a future filled with significant values on the foundations of the Christian institutions of yore” (John Paul II, at the Millennium celebrations of Hungary, Apostolic Letter, 25 July 2001, #2).

A King at the Service of His People
Not only for Stephen, the first king of Hungary, but for all those who ascended the high social offices of politics, military, or economy (sometimes even religious) there was the strong temptation to be egoistic and manipulative. In short, the incumbent ran the risk of using power to serve themselves rather than using it for the common good. History tells us that Stephen of Hungary overcame this temptation heroically. In fact, John Paul II in the above quoted Apostolic Letter said, “Stephen did not accept the crown as an honour, but a service; he therefore, always and in all circumstances sought the good of the community entrusted to him, both by organizing and defending the kingdom and by promulgating new decrees, as well as by fostering the development of the two cultures, the human and the divine.” (#3) King Stephen was untainted by the allure of his advantages and successes and having overcome the enticements of his time, he found a living source from which he drew strength to guide his people with faithful service. A writer has summed up this spiritual source concisely and with insight: “In always presenting himself as though he were before the tribunal of Christ, whom he contemplated with the eyes of his heart and a face such as to command respect, he showed that he had Christ on his lips and carried him in his heart and in all his actions.”
As king, Stephen still had to overcome some obstacles (the return to paganism) within his kingdom and combat it. His wife instead Gisella was contributing her experience and her precious knowledge to give a solid political and religious basis to the fledgling kingdom, always primarily with a Christian foundation.
One of his contemplated legislations was the construction of at least a church for every ten villages. Besides this, according to historians he organized the dioceses of Hungary and ordered the construction of numerous abbeys. In fact, he invited German, French and Italian Benedictine monks to help him to build and set up a new ruling class (political and religious) that followed Christian principles.
Being a good leader, Stephen also listened to the complaints of his own subjects and he was available to all those who wanted to speak to him, especially the poor. He also wrote that he loved to distribute alms to the poorest disguised as a nondescript. Once while doing his act of charity he was robbed by a group of bandits. He succeeded in withholding his own indignation and affront at that misadventure with serenity and good humor.
Historians do not only refer to Stephen as an amazing sovereign but despite his political preoccupations he found time for daily prayer. Therefore it was not surprising to note that he wrote to (blessed) Emeric his son: "The observance of prayer is the greatest conquest of true salvation… Continuous prayer is purification and the remission of sins."
A final point: In the iconography that concerns him (among the richest in Hungary) Stephen is sometimes represented holding the “Sacred Crown” in his hand and consecrating his kingdom to the Madonna “the Great Lady of the Hungarians.” This also explains why Marian devotion is part of the national fabric of this people.
His last years were difficult and bitter because of internal difficulties (succession to the throne, since his son Emeric died prematurely from a very painful illness). His luminous life ended on August 15, 1038 and in 1083 Gregory VII introduced a devotion to him (and with him all those who contributed to the conversion of Hungary to the Christian faith). Even to this day this devotion is very strong and has a popular imprint, coinciding with a national holiday. His mortal remains were brought to the capital Budapest and laid to rest in a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, “The Great Lady of the Hungarians.”