István Seregély (13 March 1931 – 31 December 2018) was a Hungarian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, who served as Archbishop of Eger from 5 June 1987 to 15 March 2007.

Priesthood

Seregély was born in

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

on 13 March 1931. His family moved to

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

in 1940. He finished his secondary studies at the György Fráter Catholic Secondary School (a legal predecessor of the Ferenc Földes Secondary School). He started his theological studies in the local seminary of Szombathely, but after its closure, he attended the Central Seminary of Budapest (). He was ordained as a priest by

Sándor Kovács Sándor () is a Hungarian given name and surname. It is the Hungarian form of Alexander. It may refer to: People Given name * Sándor Apponyi (1844–1925), Hungarian diplomat, bibliophile, bibliographer and book collector * Sándor Boldogfai ...

, the Bishop of Szombathely on 19 June 1955. From 1956 to 1963, he was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Gyöngyösfalu Gyöngyösfalu is a village in Vas county, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to ...

, Nyőgér,

Bagod Bagod is a proposed village in Zala County, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to t ...

and

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; ; ; ) is the administrative center of Zala County, Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders, and west-southwest of Budapest by road. Hi ...

, then from 1963 to 1974, Cathedral of the Visitation of Our Lady in Szombathely. He was made vicar of

Kőszegszerdahely Kőszegszerdahely is a village in Vas county, in the district of Kőszeg, 5 km-s from the Hungarian-Austrian border (Bozsok-Rohonc border crossing). Location Kőszegszerdahely is located in western Hungary. Neighboring settlements: Bozso ...

by Bishop Árpád Fábián in 1974. He served in this position until 1981. All of four churches, which belonged to his parish – the All Saints Church of Kőszegszerdahely, the St. Vitus Church of

Velem Velem is a village in Vas county, Hungary. The village is situated on the slopes of Kőszeg Mountains, at the westernmost tip of the county and the region known as Alpokalja (Lower Alps). Velem is notable for its picturesque environment and he ...

, the St. Peter and Paul Church of

Cák Cák is a village in Vas County, Hungary, 25 km away from Szombathely and 6 km south from Kőszeg Kőszeg (; ; ; ; ) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. The town is known for its historical character. History Medieval Period The orig ...

and the St. Martin Church of

Kőszegdoroszló Kőszegdoroszló (German: ''Deutschdorf'') is a village in Vas county, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to ...

– were renovated. He was vicar of

Kőszeg Kőszeg (; ; ; ; ) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. The town is known for its historical character. History Medieval Period The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas (Eisenburg) go back to the third quart ...

from 1981 to 1987, and nine churches were renovated under his parsonage.

Episcopal career

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him Archbishop of Eger on 5 June 1987. He was consecrated as bishop on 25 July by

László Paskai László Paskai, O.F.M. (8 May 1927 – 17 August 2015) was a Hungarian cardinal of the Catholic Church, He served as the archbishop of Esztergom (renamed to Esztergom-Budapest in 1993) from 1987 to 2002. He was one of the cardinal electors ...

at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Apostle. His motto was "''Christus est via veritas et vita''" ("Christ is the way, the truth, and the life"). Seregély was President of the

Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference (HCBC) (in Hungarian language, Hungarian: Magyar Katolikus Püspöki Konferencia) is the Episcopal conference, Episcopal Conference of Catholic bishops of Hungary. The Bishops' Conference After the Second V ...

between 1990 and 2005, and simultaneously was also Grand Chancellor of the

Pázmány Péter Catholic University Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) ( (''PPKE'')) is a private university in and near Budapest, Hungary, belonging to the Catholic Church in Hungary, Catholic Church and recognized by the state. While PPKE takes its name after an insti ...

from 1992 to 2005. He served as Vice President of the

Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (; CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Monaco, Maronite Catholic Archeparch of Cypr ...

(CCEE) from 1993 to 2001. He was awarded Fraknói Vilmos Prize in 2005. After the appointment of

Csaba Ternyák Csaba () is a Hungarian given name for males. Prince Csaba is the legendary son of Attila the Hun in Hungarian chronicles.''Gesta Hungarorum'', Simon Keza, Edited and translated by László Veszprémy and Frank Schaer with a study by Jenő Szűc ...

as his successor, Seregély functioned as apostolic governor of the Archdiocese of Eger since 15 March 2007. When Ternyák took the position on 9 June, Seregély became archbishop emeritus. Seregély died on 31 December 2018 in a priest social home in

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, ) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in the Northern Great ...

Publications

* ''Imádkozzál érettünk Istennek szent Anyja. Elmélkedések''; Don Bosco, Budapest., 2001 * ''Krisztus az út, az igazság és az élet. Tizenöt év apostoli szolgálatban, 1-2.''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2002-2003 * ''A magyar katolikus egyház a harmadik évezred küszöbén''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2003 ''(Haza a magasban)'' * ''A mi vendégünk története. Hittanregény''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2003 * ''Nevelnek a szentek''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2005 * ''Jézus Krisztus az élet és a szentség forrása. Ádventi és karácsonyi gondolatok évtizedek igehirdetésében''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2006 * ''Magunkat nem hagyhatjuk el. Szerdahelyi Csongor beszélgetése Seregély István egri érsekkel''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2007 ''(Pásztorok)'' * ''Szűz Mária levelei. Elmélkedések a rózsafüzér titkairól''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2007 * ''Jézus Krisztus az élet és a szentség forrása. Húsvéti gondolatok évtizedek igehirdetésében''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2009 * ''Jézus Krisztus az élet és a szentség forrása. Nagyböjti gondolatok évtizedek igehirdetésében''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2009 * ''Jézus Krisztus az élet és a szentség forrása. Püspöki gondolatok évtizedek igehirdetésében''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2010 * ''Jézus Krisztus keresztútja. Seregély István elmélkedései Faykod Mária lourdes-i stációszobrairól készült fényképeivel''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2010 * ''Jézus Krisztus keresztútja''; Érseki Vagyonkezelő Központ, Eger, 2012 * ''Tanúságtétel. Válogatás az egri Szent István Rádióban 2002-2010 között elhangzott jegyzetekből''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2012 * ''A kereszténység a vallás koronája. Válogatás az egri Szent István Rádióban elhangzott jegyzetekből''; Szent István Társulat, Bp., 2013 * ''Szűz Mária levelei. Elmélkedések a rózsafüzér titkairól''; Érseki Vagyonkezelő Központ, Eger, 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seregely, Istvan 1931 births 2018 deaths People from Szombathely Archbishops of Eger 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary Hungarian Roman Catholic archbishops