Order of St John of Jerusalem of
Rhodes and of Malta
H.E. Amb. Dr. Heinz Hafner held a talk about the Sovereign Order of Malta to students of the Matthias Corvinus College in Pécs.
In 1925, the Grand Master of the Order, Fra' Galeazzo von Thun und Hohenstein, appointed Count Jenő Karátsonyi, who at the time belonged to the Order's Austrian Grand Priorate, as first Ambassador Extraordinary to Hungary. It was Jenő Karátsonyi who paved the way for the Order of Malta to authorise the creation of a Hungarian national association in 1928. The Hungarian Order of Malta celebrated the centenary at the invitation of H.E. Ambassador Dr. Heinz Anton Hafner, on 10th April at the Church of the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary in Solymár, where Count Jenő Karátsonyi is buried. Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Michael W. Banach, Apostolic Nuncio.
The Holy See's Secretary for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, met representatives of the diplomatic corps on 29th March, on the occasion of a visit to Hungary. The Ambassador of S.M.O.M., Dr Heinz Anton Hafner, was present at the event and had the opportunity for a lengthy exchange of views with the high-level Vatican diplomat.
Budapest, March 27, 2025: Archbishop Michael W. Banach, Apostolic Nuncio to Hungary, has been received into the Order as Conventual Chaplain ad honorem Grand Cross in gremio religionis. HMEH the Grand Master John Dunlap delegated the President of the MMLSZ, Kristóf Szabadhegÿ, to preside the induction ceremony, which was held in the chapel of the house of the Order in Budapest, in the presence of HE Ambassador Dr. Heinz Anton Hafner.
The annual bilateral meeting of the Hungarian Government and the Order of Malta was held on March 11, chaired by Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister of the Hungarian Government, and Dr. Heinz Anton Hafner, Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta. Leaders of the Hungarian Association and the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta attended.
The President of the Curia of Hungary, Prof. Dr. András Varga invited Ambassador Hafner to the Curia’s traditional annual breakfast meeting on 6th March 2025.
Dr. Heinz Anton Hafner, Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Hungary, attended the New Year reception hosted by the President of the Republic of Hungary on 16th January 2025.
The funeral of Father Imre Kozma, co-founder and lifetime president of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, was attended by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and top members of the Government. The Order was represented by H.E. the Grand Hospitaller, Fra' Alessandro De Franciscis, accompanied by H.E. Amb. Heinz Hafner and a large delegation of the Hungarian Association of the Order.
The Embassy pays tribute to Father Imre Kozma, who passed away on October 17 at the age of 84, after a long, devoted and distinguished life in the service of the Faith and of suffering humanity.