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

Chladek István Menyhért O.Cist

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Deceased

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Birth data:: Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary — July 26, 1931
Death data:: Irving, TX, USA — June 26, 2017
Denomination:: Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:: religious
Diocese / Order:: ciszterciek (Ordo Cisterciensis)

Ordination level:: priest
Entry into religious life:: Zirc, Hungary — August 29, 1949
Priestly ordination:: May 14, 1955
Place of burial:: apátság kriptája
Irving, TX, USA

Biographical data

His parents were Antal Chladek, a mechanical engineer, and Irén Meivald. He was a student at the St. Imre Cistercian High School. He entered the order on August 29, 1949, in Zirc. He left Hungary in 1950. He began his theological studies in Rome at the Pontificio Ateneo e Collegio Sant’Anselmo, then went to the Cistercian monastery in Wisconsin in 1953. He arrived in the United States, in New York, NY, on January 23, 1953, aboard the Andrea Doria. He was ordained a priest on May 14, 1955. He celebrated his first Mass at the newly established Cistercian Abbey in Irving, TX, where he lived until his death. After 1981, he served as a pastor at the Carswell Air Force Base and at St. Monica Parish in Dallas. From 2014 to 2017, he lived in a nursing home.

Foreign service locations

From	To	Place	Church / institution	Position
1950	1953	Róma, Italy		theology student
1953	1954	Spring Bank, WI, USA	Our Lady of Spring Bank Abbey	theology student
1954	1955	Milwaukee, WI, USA	Saint Francis Seminary	theology student
1955	1956	Dallas, TX, USA	Southern Methodist University	college student, member of the Perjel Council
1956	1962	St. Louis, MO, USA	Saint Louis University	college student
1962	2017	Irving, TX, USA	Cistercian Abbey Our Lady of Dallas	teacher, parish secretary, assistant pastor

Life timeline

Birth

July 26, 1931

Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

Entry into religious life

August 29, 1949

Zirc, Hungary

Service abroad

1950 – 1953

Róma, Italy

theology student

Service abroad

1953 – 1954

Spring Bank, WI, USA

Our Lady of Spring Bank Abbey

theology student

Service abroad

1954 – 1955

Milwaukee, WI, USA

Saint Francis Seminary

theology student

Priestly ordination

May 14, 1955

Service abroad

1955 – 1956

Dallas, TX, USA

Southern Methodist University

college student, member of the Perjel Council

Service abroad

1956 – 1962

St. Louis, MO, USA

Saint Louis University

college student

Service abroad

1962 – 2017

Irving, TX, USA

Cistercian Abbey Our Lady of Dallas

teacher, parish secretary, assistant pastor

Death

June 26, 2017

Irving, TX, USA

Sources

https://www.cistercian.org/abbey/directory/melchior.html✓
ABTL: HU - ÁBTL - I. - 2.2.1. - IV/1 Külföldön élő személyek kartonjai, 458-461.
Cúthné: 166-168.
Címtár: 2013, 2016.
https://www.myheritage.hu/research/collection-10512/ellis-islan-es-egyeb-new-york-i-utaslistak-1820-1957?itemId=36014150-&action=showRecord&recordTitle=Istvan+Menyhert+Chladek✓
A Ciszterci Levéltár és Halász Tibor O.Cist információi alapján.

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Citation for this entry

Chladek István Menyhért O.Cist: 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=125 (accessed: 2026-07-07).

Last modified: June 23, 2026 12:26 | Opened: 66 times