Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia — September 1, 1727
According to another source: March 19, 1727 — Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary
Death data:
Besztercebánya, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Banská Bystrica, Slovakia — April 17, 1772
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
religious
Diocese / Order:
jezsuita (Societas Jesu)
Ordination level:
priest
Entry into religious life:
Trencsén, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Trenčín, Slovakia — October 20, 1742
Biographical data
Ferenc Károly Egidiusz Xavér Éder, S.J. (Selmecbánya, September 1, 1727 – Besztercebánya, April 17, 1772) was a Hungarian Jesuit missionary, South American traveler, and ethnographer and geographer. He completed his studies in Selmecbánya and Nagyszombat, and entered the Society of Jesus in Trencsén in 1742. In 1749, he volunteered for a South American mission, and after traveling through Spain and Panama, he arrived in Peru in 1751. He worked as a missionary among the Mojo Indians living in the region of the Mamoré River, in what is now Bolivia, for about fifteen years. He participated in the founding of several mission centers, studied indigenous languages, and compiled detailed ethnographic, geographical, and natural science records. His major work is *Descriptio provinciae Moxitarum in Regno Peruano*, which is one of the most important descriptions of 18th-century South America with Hungarian relevance. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, he returned to Hungary and served in Besztercebánya until his death.
Domestic service locations
From
To
Place i
Current name, country i
Church / institution
Position
1769
1772
Besztercebánya, Kingdom of Hungary
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
parish priest
Foreign service locations
From
To
Place
Current name, country
Church / institution
Position
1751
1767
Moxitánia, Perui Alkirályság
Bolívia
On the eastern side of the Andes, along the middle reaches of the Mamoré River, among the Mojo Indians: missionary and founder of a mission center
Literary activity
Descriptio provinciae Moxitarum in Regno Peruano, quam e scriptis posthumis Franc. Xav. Eder ... digessit, expolivit, & adnotatiunculis illustravit ... Mako; typis Universitatis, Buda, 1791.
Ferenc X. Éder's description of Peruvian missions from the 18th century, 1-3.; sajtó alá rend. Boglár Lajos, Bognár András; ELTE, Bp., 1981–1986.
Éder Xavér Ferenc 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=246 (accessed: 2026-07-07).
Last modified: May 11, 2026 11:21 |
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