Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary — April 6, 1923
Death data:
Philadelphia, PA, USA — July 21, 1972
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
religious
Diocese / Order:
piarista (Ordo Clericorum Regularium Pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum)
Ordination level:
priest
Entry into religious life:
Vác, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary — August 27, 1941
Perpetual vows:
September 8, 1946
Priestly ordination:
June 22, 1947
Biographical data
His religious name: Saint Imre. He entered the order in Vác on August 27, 1941. He took his perpetual vows on September 8, 1946. He was ordained a priest on June 22, 1947. He received his doctorate in 1949. He participated in the Bulányi movement and led the Győr region. The AVH recruited him through blackmail, so he submitted reports on several occasions, primarily regarding the Scout movement. He left for the West on the orders of the State Security. He lived in the U.S. from 1957, where he earned a degree in chemistry and a doctorate. Around 1963, his identity as an agent was exposed, making his position in the Piarist Order untenable. Around 1965, he left the order and was placed in lay status. After leaving the priesthood, he became a chemistry teacher at Seton Hall College (East Orange, NY), a Catholic college, and after 1970, he taught at a Catholic school in Philadelphia, though he did not cease his intelligence activities until 1968. He died of a heart attack in Philadelphia; his former fellow monk, Lajos Meskó, was by his side at the time of his death.
Domestic service locations
From
To
Place
Country
Church / institution
Position
1947
1949
Budapest
Hungary
Notre Dame de Sion nővérek általános iskolája
religious educator
1949
1950
Tata
Hungary
állami gimnázium
religious educator
1950
1951
Kóny
Hungary
Assistant Pastor (serving in the Diocese of Győr)
1952
1956
Budapest
Hungary
in a civilian capacity, mainly in Budapest
Foreign service locations
From
To
Place
Country
Church / institution
Position
1953
1963
Buffalo, NY, USA
Hungary
Calasanctius Preparatory School
chemistry teacher
1956
1957
Róma
Italy
on active duty, but at the same time an agent of the Hungarian state security service
1957
1958
Devon, PA
USA
1964
1965
Fort Lauderdale, FL
USA
teacher, then assistant pastor at a local parish
Literary activity
A művészet és élet – Vigilia, 13. szám (1948. augusztus) 471-481.
Panis Evangelicus, Róma, 1956. nov. 26.-1957. márc. 4.: a Pápai Magyar Intézet lapja. - Megj. rendszertelenül, 12-30 old. Szerk. Divald István
Characterization of The Primary Products from Displacement Reactions of 2-(Chloromethyl) Furans, Tetrahedron Letters, 1970.
Chemistry of 2-(Chloromethyl)Furans. Reaction of 2-(Chloromethyl)Furans With Aqueous Potassium Cyanide and Other Nucleophiles, The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1976.
Akit az államvédelem szöktetett ki nyugatra: Divald István (1923 – 1972), in: Szende Ákos: Piarista eszmék és sorsok a 20. századból, Piarista Rend Magyar Tartománya, Budapest, 2013.
183-228.
A magyar piaristák 1950-ben / Szerk.: Böszörményi Géza SchP, Piarista tartományfőnökség, Budapest, 1997, 117., 122., 187., 192.
Divald István Sch.P, dr: personal record. In: Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad. Available at: https://www.diaszporalelkipasztorok.hu/persons_v2/view.php?id=203 (accessed: 2026-04-05).