The Many Lives of a Jesuit, Freemason, and Philantropist. The Story of Töhötöm Nagy (Book)

Type of Abstract (select): Book Presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Éva Petrás: The Many Lives of a Jesuit, Freemason, and Philantropist. The Story of Töhötöm Nagy.
CEU Press, Budapest-Vienna-New York, 2023.
The life of Töhötöm Nagy, Jesuit, Mason, and secret service agent, offers fascinating insights into interwar Hungary, the Catholic Church and Vatican diplomacy, Freemasonry, and the activities of communist state security service. As a young Jesuit Nagy was one the leaders of a successful Catholic youth movement in interwar Hungary. After World War II he played an important role acting as an intermediary between the Vatican, the Red Army, and the Hungarian Catholic Church. After being sent to South America, he was attracted by liberation theology, but left the Society of Jesus, joined the Freemasons, and did social and philanthropist work in the slums of Buenos Aires. However, in the late 1960s he agreed to work for the Hungarian state security service in return for his repatriation. His biography traces the twists and turns of his life and at the same time gives insight into the 20th century history of Hungary, the Hungarian Catholic Church, Freemasonry, South America, and communism.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Éva Petrás (PhD) studied at Pécs University with double majors in history and English and subsequently received her second M.A. degree in modern history at Central European University in Budapest. Between 1995 and 2000 she was a PhD researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, where she obtained her PhD in the department of History and Civilization in 2003. Until 2008 she was a researcher at the European Comparative Minority Research Institute (EÖKIK). Between 2009 and 2020 she worked in the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (ÁBTL) and currently she is a senior research fellow at the Committee of National Remembrance (NEB) in Budapest. In 2023 she received her university habilitation degree at Eötvös Loránd University.