Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad

Beöthy Tamás SJ

Beöthy Tamás SJ
Deceased
Birth data:
Budapest, Hungary — February 15, 1927
Death data:
Budapest, Hungary — February 11, 2015
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
religious
Diocese / Order:
jezsuita (Societas Jesu)
Ordination level:
priest
Entry into religious life:
August 23, 1955
Perpetual vows:
August 15, 1971
Priestly ordination:
July 31, 1963
Place of burial:
Mária utcai jezsuita templom kriptája
Budapest, Hungary
Biographical data
His mother’s name was Íris Rajner. He completed his high school studies at the Premonstratensian High School in Gödöllő. In 1945, he was admitted to the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University, and it was around this time that he met the Jesuits, who were already living in hiding. He earned his degree in architectural engineering in 1950 and worked as an architect for six years. Meanwhile, on August 23, 1955, he secretly joined the order. He left the country due to his involvement in the 1956 uprising. From 1958 to 1960, he studied philosophy in Ireland, and then theology in Dublin from 1961 to 1964. He completed his third year of novitiate in Münster from 1964 to 1965. He was ordained a priest on July 31, 1963. He then moved to the United States and later to Canada, where he remained until 1989, after which he returned to Hungary. He took his final vows on August 15, 1971.
Notes
According to the Wikipedia entry:
He graduated from the Premonstratensian High School in Gödöllő in 1945, then studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University. It was there that he met József Mizsef Szabó, a Jesuit university chaplain operating underground. On September 14, 1953, he secretly became a novice.

He received his degree in architectural engineering in 1950 and worked as an architect for six years thereafter. Due to his revolutionary activities in 1956, he fled the country on the night of December 8–9. Although he was apprehended at the border, he escaped from the guardhouse and fled to Austria. He also took his monastic vows there on July 31, 1957.

From 1958 to 1960, he studied philosophy in Tullamore, Ireland, and then theology in Dublin from 1961 to 1964. He was ordained a priest there on July 31, 1963. He completed his final training, the tertianship, in Münster in 1964–65. He took his solemn vows in Canada in 1971.

He lived in America from 1965 onward. He first taught German in Rochester (New York), then served as an assistant pastor in Hamilton, Canada, from 1967 to 1968. From 1968 to 1979, he was appointed assistant pastor and later pastor in Courtland (Ontario). From 1980 to 1989, he worked as a chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, Ontario, and during this time, he also completed a clinical internship in Smiths Falls in 1985. He organized programs, scouting activities, and Saturday Hungarian school for second- and third-generation Hungarians in Canada.

In 1989, following the political transition, he returned to Hungary. He first served as an assistant pastor at St. Stephen’s Church in Kalocsa, then moved to Budapest in 1992. He regularly traveled throughout Hungary, Transylvania, Upper Hungary, and Southern Hungary. He led retreats and Married Couples’ Weekends. He played a key role in spreading and organizing the Cursillo spirituality. From July 5, 1991, until 2007, he served as the spiritual director of the Cursillo Movement in the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest.

He passed away on February 11, 2015, after a long illness.
Domestic service locations
From To Place Country Church / institution Position
1989 1992 Kalocsa Hungary assistant pastor
1992 2012 Budapest Hungary pastor
2012 2015 Budapest Hungary Farkas Edit Szeretetotthon pastor
Foreign service locations
From To Place Country Church / institution Position
1958 1964 Dublin Írország studies
1966 1966 Rochester, NY USA math teacher
1967 1969 Hamilton, ON Canada Magyarországi Szent István templom assistant pastor
1970 1979 Courtland, ON Canada assistant pastor, then parish priest
1980 1987 London, ON Canada St. Mary Hospital pastor
1988 1988 Windsor, ON Canada
1989 1989 London, ON Canada St. Mary Hospital pastor
Literary activity
Cursillo munkatársak kézikönyve / Budapest: Márton Á. K., 2003
Life timeline
Birth
Budapest, Hungary
Entry into religious life
Service abroad
19581964
Dublin, Írország
studies
Priestly ordination
Service abroad
19661966
Rochester, NY, USA
math teacher
Service abroad
19671969
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Magyarországi Szent István templom
assistant pastor
Service abroad
19701979
Courtland, ON, Canada
assistant pastor, then parish priest
Perpetual vows
Service abroad
19801987
London, ON, Canada
St. Mary Hospital
pastor
Service abroad
19881988
Windsor, ON, Canada
Service in the homeland
19891992
Kalocsa, Hungary
assistant pastor
Service abroad
19891989
London, ON, Canada
St. Mary Hospital
pastor
Service in the homeland
19922012
Budapest, Hungary
pastor
Service in the homeland
20122015
Budapest, Hungary
Farkas Edit Szeretetotthon
pastor
Death
Budapest, Hungary
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Citation for this entry
Beöthy Tamás SJ: 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=69 (accessed: 2026-04-05).