Csánádapátfalva, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Apátfalva, Hungary — December 29, 1891
Death data:
Bronx, NY, USA — August 2, 1993
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
religious
Diocese / Order:
jezsuita (Societas Jesu)
Ordination level:
priest
Priestly ordination:
July 1, 1933
Other name used:
Derecskey
Biographical data
His parents were Károly Derecskei and Erzsébet Heim; he had two siblings. He studied law and served as a clerk at the Arad court from 1914 to 1915. He was drafted into military service on May 15, 1915, and was discharged on July 10, 1919. In October 1915, he was taken prisoner of war at Dobrenoc on the Eastern Front; after a long stay in Russia, he returned to his homeland via Vladivostok in 1921. He was then appointed clerk of the Fehértemplom (near Belgrade) Court, but from January 1921 to December 1922 he temporarily served at the Újpest Court. At the end of 1923, he passed the bar exam, and in January 1923, he was appointed district judge at the Pestszenterzsébet District Court.
From 1923 to 1925, he completed his novitiate in Érd, and from 1926 to 1927, he studied philosophy in Jersey. In 1929, he spent his master’s years in Kalocsa, then completed his studies in philosophy in Szeged, after which he studied theology. He was ordained a priest on July 1, 1933. In 1935, he was sent to Ankara to the Turkish mission; meanwhile, in 1937, he returned to Szeged, where he completed his tertianship. From 1938, he ministered to Hungarians in Istanbul, and from 1939 to 1954, he served as a Hungarian pastor in Ankara.
In 1947, he was stripped of his Hungarian citizenship, so he lived in Turkey as a stateless person until 1954. At that time, he applied to immigrate to the United States, for which he received permission. He arrived in the United States on December 8, 1954.
He lived in the United States from 1955 onward. He passed away at the age of 102.
Derecskei János 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=193 (accessed: 2026-07-07).
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