Kolos Ferenc Vaszary,

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(12 February 1832 in Keszthely,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

– 3 September 1915 in

Balatonfüred Balatonfüred (german: Bad Plattensee, sk, Blatenské Teplice) is a resort town in Veszprém county, in Hungary, with a population of 13,000, situated on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. It is considered to be the capital of the Northern lake ...

, Hungary) was a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a longtime

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the prestigious see of

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He entered the Order of

Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

in 1847 and was professed on 6 June 1854. Two years later he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1856 and for a long time worked as a school teacher. When almost 60 years old, he was appointed Archbishop of Esztergom and thus Prince-Primate of Hungary on 13 December 1891, and received episcopal ordination on 7 February 1892. The Archbishop of Esztergom (which contains the Hungarian capital of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

) is traditionally made a cardinal,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

elevated Vaszary to the cardinalate less than a year later, on 16 January 1893. At the same time the Habsburg monarchy recognised his services to the community by giving him the order of Sankt Stefan. Cardinal Vaszary served as an

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

for twenty years, participating in the conclave of

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

. At a time when bishops typically served as long as they lived, and today's practice of resigning at the age of 75 had not yet begun, Cardinal Vaszary's health declined so much that in November 1912 it was absolutely impossible for him to continue fulfilling any of the work of an archbishop, and he announced his resignation. Because of the then existing agreements between the Catholic Church and the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, both the Pope and the Emperor had to accept his resignation before it took effect. They accepted it in the first week of 1913. Already eighty-two when

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

died, Cardinal Vaszary was quite unable to participate in the conclave which elected Pius X's successor,

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaszary, Kolos Ferenc 1832 births 1915 deaths People from Keszthely 19th-century Hungarian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII 20th-century Hungarian cardinals Archbishops of Esztergom Burials at Esztergom Basilica Hungarian Benedictines Benedictine cardinals