Lajos Kada (16 November 1924 – 26 November 2001) was a Hungarian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent most of his career in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, serving also in the Roman Curia. Escudo de Lajos Kada

Biography

Lajos Kada was born in

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 ...

, Hungary, on 16 November 1924. He was ordained a priest on 10 October 1948. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

in 1955. He was the Academy's first Hungarian student. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1957 and worked in the diplomatic missions in Pakistan, Scandinavia (based in Denmark), Germany (Bonn), and Argentina. He was working at the

Pontifical Council Cor Unum The Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' for Human and Christian Development was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church from 1971 to 2016. History The Pontifical Council was established by Pope Paul VI on 15 July 1971 an ...

when, on 20 June 1975,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named him a titular archbishop and

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal

Jean-Marie Villot Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French prelate and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secret ...

on 20 July 1975. On 15 October 1980,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to El Salvador as well. On 8 April 1984, Pope John Paul moved him to the Roman Curia, naming him Secretary of the Congregation of the Sacraments. On 22 August 1991, Pope John Paul returned him to the diplomatic corps, appointing him

Apostolic Nuncio to Germany The Apostolic Nunciature to Germany is an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany with the rank of an ambassador. Th ...

. On 22 September 1995, Pope John Paul named him

Apostolic Nuncio to Spain The Apostolic Nunciature to the Kingdom of Spain is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Spain. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. For much of ...

, to which he added, on 8 March 1996, the responsibilities of Apostolic Nuncio to Andorra. His tenure in Spain was marked by disputes with the government about religious education and church finances; he made his hostility to Catalan nationalism clear as well. He retired when replaced as Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and Andorra on 1 March 2000. After years of fighting cancer, Kada died in Budapest on 26 November 2001.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Lajos Kada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kada, Lajos 1924 births 2001 deaths Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Costa Rica Apostolic Nuncios to El Salvador Apostolic Nuncios to Germany Apostolic Nuncios to Spain Apostolic Nuncios to Andorra Officials of the Roman Curia Clergy from Budapest Diplomats from Budapest Hungarian expatriates in Italy Hungarian expatriates in Pakistan Hungarian expatriates in Germany Hungarian expatriates in Denmark Hungarian expatriates in Argentina Hungarian expatriates in Costa Rica Hungarian expatriates in Spain Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum alumni