History paper by Hegedűs, István
Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Role of the St. Ladislaus Church in New Brunswick's Hungarian Community

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
There were four larger waves of Hungarian immigration from 1880 to 1990 to New Brunswick. Before the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, after the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, after the end of the World War II, after the 1956 revolution of Hungary.
By the first years of the 1900’s the Roman Catholic members of the community became strong enough to establish an independent Hungarian parish. In the winter 1903, a voting ceremony took place at Columbia Hall (St. Peter’s Parish) led by McKeesport priest Kalman Kovacs, where the members decided the founding of the Hungarian parish. They got the license in the summer of 1904 from the Bishop of Trenton. The members called upon Fr. John Szeneczey of McAdoo, PA to lead their community, which was accepted. The father occupied his new service place in September 1904. The church record’s began with a baptism on October 2nd 1904. The establishment of the parish was in 25th October 1904, when the Saint Ladislaus Roman Catholic Church registered as a legal person. The masses were held at St. Peter’s halls for several months. The parishioners intended an important role for teaching their childer as well. To serve those need they started to build a school in 1914, which was already dedicated September 6th in the same year. We can say that the Hungarian education began 100 years ago in New Brunswick.
The number of weekend's Hungarian school (operated by St. Ladislaus Church and Magyar Reformed Church) around 170, however, the clock effects of assimilation is very strong. The St. Ladislaus Church still regarded as the center of local Hungarian community organization.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
István Hegedűs (MA in History, Eszterházy Károly College, Eger; MA in Library Science, Eszterházy Károly College, Eger; Msc in agricultural engineer specialized to rural development, Károly Róbert College) working as research assistant at the Institute for Minority Studies Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is working on his doctoral thesis in History (about the estates and possessions of the Andrássy family during 19th-20th century). He is also interested in the preservation and development of Hungarica collections of the US. He spent half a year in New Brunswick, NJ with the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor scholarship.