Vixit et vivat!
Whatsoever thou shalt bless may it be blessed, and whatsoever thou shalt sanctify may it be sanctified; and may the imposition of this consecrated hand or thumb be profitable in all things unto salvation. Amen
(Part of the rite of episcopal ordination)
"It is due to God’s grace that I am as I am, and without this grace I would be nothing. Since all the good comes from the Lord, it is Him I want to give thanks to for everything: for the trials and the consolation, the dangers and the exodus, the injustice and serenity." (József Mindszenty)
"I give thanks to God for allowing me to be a humble instrument in his hands." (József Mindszenty)
"He is a symbol of unshakeable strength rooted in faith and of selfless devotion to the Church. He has proved this first of all by his tireless activity and alert love, then by prayer and long suffering." (Pope Paul VI)
"This is our final farewell to Cardinal Mindszenty, the moment when he starts his last pilgrimage, to Mariazell. He speaks to us even in death: defunctus adhuc loquitur. His heart – the heart with which he loved his country, his Church and his faith above all – was broken. His heart was open to everyone who was in trouble and needed help, regardless of their denomination or political views.
'The world can deprive us of this and that but cannot wipe out our faith in Jesus Christ', he said once. 'He is a confessor of the faith and a martyr, as the Pope himself has attested to it, an unyielding confessor of the faith and of his Church, who was willing to make any sacrifice. And despite all the difficulties, he overcame his interior problems and remained obedient to Peter's chair in order to give an example of obedience without compromise. We bow low with affection and respect before this confessor of the faith and martyr of our time." (Cardinal Franz König, Archbishop of Vienna)
"We Austrians now make our final farewell to Cardinal József Mindszenty on Austrian soil. We know that the words of Pericles' funeral oration also hold true for him: 'Famous men have the whole earth as their memorial. It is not only the inscriptions on their graves in their own country that mark them out; no, in foreign lands also, not in any visible form but in people’s hearts, their memory abides and grows.'" (Alois Mock, ex-minister of foreign affairs of Austria)
"Today, when his mortal remains return to his beloved country, we know that Mindszenty and his tortured nation have won a victory. We owe Hungary's freedom to him as well because he maintained in us the faith and hope that God's justice will have the last say. József Mindszenty's Good Friday brought us the resurrection." (Otto von Habsburg)