Between 17 and 25 May 2026, the Fraknói Research Group held its customary annual institutional week in Rome. As in 2023, 2024, and 2025, the Saint Stephen House (Szent István Ház) once again served as the group's base of operations, symbolically continuing the revival of the Hungarian Historical Institute in Rome. From there, participants set out each day to conduct research in the city's major archival and library collections.
A total of thirteen researchers affiliated with the Fraknói Research Group and the Collegium Professorum Hungarorum (CPH) carried out archival and bibliographical research in the Vatican Apostolic Archive, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Historical Archive of the Secretariat of State, the Archives of Saint Stephen House, and the library of the French Institute in Rome.
On Wednesday, during the General Audience, Péter Tusor, Leader of the Research Group, presented Pope Leo XIV with a volume devoted to the history of Hungarian scholarship in the Vatican archives. He also requested the Holy Father's blessing upon the members of the Research Group and the CPH present at the audience, as well as upon their future scholarly endeavours. The Pope graciously thanked Tusor for his brief introduction and gift, and gladly imparted his Apostolic Blessing.
In keeping with established tradition, members of the Research Group also visited Vatican Radio, where Balázs Rétfalvi presented the two volumes of the nineteenth-century Bishops’ Lexicon, while Péter Tusor introduced his recently published monograph (CVH I/27) to Fr. László Vértesaljai S.J. and the listeners of the Hungarian-language broadcast. (The latter interview is available here from 12:00.)
The youngest members of the Research Group ensured that the most recent volumes published within the Collectanea Vaticana Hungariae series and by the Viterbo-based scholarly network—including Vilmos Fraknói and the Episcopate Vilmos Fraknói and the Hungarian Bishops, The Dioceses and Bishops of Hungary (1804–1918) Vol. V, and Protagonisti e collaboratori—found their way into the libraries of Rome’s and the Vatican’s leading research institutions and historical collections.
After the closing hours of the archives and libraries, as well as during the weekend, the study trip was enriched by visits to the seemingly inexhaustible cultural treasures of Rome. Particular highlights included the Bernini exhibition at Palazzo Barberini, together with excursions to Frascati, Orvieto, Ancona, and Loreto. These shared experiences provided a fitting complement to more than a week of intensive scholarly work.
During the institutional week, the Research Group also held its annual planning meeting in Frascati, dedicated to preparing its programme for the 2026/27 academic year. The meeting itself was preceded by an unexpected episode: the entire group briefly sought refuge in a rapid retreat—evoking the exploits of Hungary’s great historical figures—when a number of wild boars appeared to be charging through the grounds of Villa Torlonia. It soon became clear, however, that the animals were merely making their way to the park’s Baroque fountain for a drink. (Photographs and video of the incident are available on the Fraknói Research Group’s Facebook page.)
As photography is not permitted in the Vatican archival reading rooms, the research itself will ultimately be documented through its scholarly publications. The remainder of the study trip, however, is illustrated in the photo gallery below.
