2016 will be the St Martin memorial year in Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – The government has allocated 855 million forints (EUR 2.81m) for programmes to be organised at the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma in north-western Hungary during the 2016 Saint Martin Year, Akos Kara, a state secretary of the national development ministry, said on Wednesday.

In March, the government declared 2016 a St Martin memorial year to mark the 1700th anniversary of the legendary bishop’s birth.

The government has allocated another 2.5 billion forints to the city of Szombathely in western Hungary for programmes between November 11, 2015 and November 11, 2016 and related development projects, the state secretary of the human resources ministry told a press conference in Pannonhalma.

An additional 100 million forints will be made available for programmes to be held in churches and parishes in Hungary and neighbouring countries with Hungarian communities throughout the memorial year, said Miklos Soltesz, who is in charge of church and minority relations.