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

Havas János SJ

Havas János SJ
Deceased
Birth data:
Budajenő, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary — April 2, 1908
Death data:
New York, NY, USA — September 14, 1994
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
religious
Diocese / Order:
jezsuita (Societas Jesu)
Ordination level:
priest
Entry into religious life:
September 5, 1930
Perpetual vows:
February 2, 1945
Priestly ordination:
Sanghaj, Kína — May 31, 1941
Other name used:
Hua Ku Szen-Nán-Min
Biographical data
He entered the order on September 5, 1930. He spent his probationary period and his year of rhetoric at Manréza. He studied philosophy in Szeged from 1934 to 1936 and in Budapest in 1937. His calling to the mission field grew stronger, so in 1937 he set out for a mission in China. He completed his theological studies in Shanghai, at Ziakwei (Hszücsiahuj). He was ordained a priest in Shanghai on May 31, 1941. In 1943, he served as a pastor in Taming, then completed his third probationary year in Ahwei, where he took his final vows on February 2, 1945.
From 1949 to 1952, he served as a student chaplain at Aurora University in Shanghai. His Chinese name: Hua Ku Sen-Nan-Min
He was arrested in 1952 and deported from China on May 16, 1954. He settled first in Canada and then in the United States. From 1955 to 1956, he served as a pastor and lay missionary at the Hungarian parish in Courtland. In 1957, he taught religion and German for a year in Rochester, New York. Afterward, however, he began his true calling: he became a missionary and led retreats. He carried out these duties in Rochester until 1960, continuing from Fordham University in New York, based in Morristown from 1966 to 1969 and in Auriesville from 1970 to 1973. After that, as a sought-after retreat director, he continued solely in this role from 1974 to 1976 in Jersey City, from 1977 in Morristown, and from 1990 in the Bronx. He died in New York in 1994.
Foreign service locations
From To Place Country Church / institution Position
1937 1938 Nanking Kína language school studies
1939 1942 Zikawei Kína theology student
1943 Taming Kína
1944 Ahwei Kína probation
1949 1952 Sanghaj Kína university chaplain
1952 1955 Kína in prison
1956 Courtland, ON Canada pastor and lay missionary
1957 New York, NY USA missionary
1958 1962 Rochester, NY USA religion teacher and German teacher
1963 1966 New York, NY USA missionary and university professor
1967 1970 Morristown, NJ USA missionary
1970 1973 Auriesville, NY USA missionary
1974 1977 Jersey City, NJ USA retreat leader
1978 1990 Morristown, NJ USA retreat leader
1990 1994 Bronx, NY USA retreat leader
Life timeline
Birth
Budajenő, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary
Entry into religious life
Service abroad
19371938
Nanking, Kína
language school studies
Service abroad
19391942
Zikawei, Kína
theology student
Priestly ordination
Sanghaj, Kína
Service abroad
Taming, Kína
Service abroad
Ahwei, Kína
probation
Perpetual vows
Service abroad
19491952
Sanghaj, Kína
university chaplain
Service abroad
19521955
Kína
in prison
Service abroad
Courtland, ON, Canada
pastor and lay missionary
Service abroad
New York, NY, USA
missionary
Service abroad
19581962
Rochester, NY, USA
religion teacher and German teacher
Service abroad
19631966
New York, NY, USA
missionary and university professor
Service abroad
19671970
Morristown, NJ, USA
missionary
Service abroad
19701973
Auriesville, NY, USA
missionary
Service abroad
19741977
Jersey City, NJ, USA
retreat leader
Service abroad
19781990
Morristown, NJ, USA
retreat leader
Service abroad
19901994
Bronx, NY, USA
retreat leader
Death
New York, NY, USA
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Citation for this entry
Havas 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=371 (accessed: 2026-05-06).