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

Kiss László Szaléz OFM, Isten szolgája

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Deceased

Birth data:: Szeged, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary — July 27, 1904
Death data:: Sopronkőhida, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary — December 10, 1946
Denomination:: Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:: religious
Diocese / Order:: ferences (Ordo Fratrum Minorum) (Kapisztránus rendtartomány)

Ordination level:: priest
Entry into religious life:: October 3, 1920
Perpetual vows:: July 28, 1925
Priestly ordination:: September 2, 1928
Place of burial:: jeltelen sírba temették, sírhelye ismeretlen.

Biographical data

His parents were Ernő Kiss and Piroska Halász; he was the fifth of ten children. His father was a master shoemaker who was killed in World War I, as were two of his brothers. He first encountered the order in Szeged, by which time he had already begun to feel a desire for monastic life. He began his secondary education with the Piarists in Szeged, and after completing his novitiate, he graduated from high school with the Cistercians in Eger. He entered the Franciscan Order on October 3, 1920. He took his perpetual vows on July 28, 1925. He was ordained a priest on September 2, 1928. In 1934, after falling out with his provincial superior over a sharply worded newspaper article, he was sent to the United States, where he felt lonely and was tormented by homesickness. He returned home in 1942, practically on the last ship to leave the U.S. for Europe. In Debrecen, he hid Jewish families, which put him at risk of internment in Dachau. He was arrested on April 28, 1946, and tortured during interrogations. He was sentenced to death and executed on charges of leading an illegal armed organization and inciting the murder of Soviet soldiers. The proceedings of the Soviet military court were in multiple ways unlawful; they did not even provide an interpreter for him or his thirty co-defendants. His execution was likely carried out by firing squad, but there is much uncertainty surrounding the exact date (sources mention the dates of April 18, 1946; October 20, 1946; and January 8, 1947). His beatification is currently underway; the diocesan investigation began in 2011, and on November 18, 2013, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints received the case file.

Domestic service locations

From	To	Place i	Current name, country i	Position
1928	1934	Pécs, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	Master of the College, Prefect, Ordinary and Lenten Preacher, Director of Spiritual Exercises
1934	1936	Jászberény, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	philosophy teacher
1936		Salgótarján, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	pastor
1942	1944	Debrecen, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	house manager, assistant pastor
1944	1946	Gyöngyös, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	Master of Theology, professor of philosophy and pastoral theology

Foreign service locations

From	To	Place	Current name, country	Church / institution	Position
1934	1942	New Brunswick, NJ, USA		Szent László R. K. Egyházközség	parish priest

Literary activity

Mindent az Istenért! Lechner Mária Franciska alapítóanya egyénisége. Gyöngyös, 1943. (3. kiad. 1944); 1943. IX-1944. VI: a gyöngyösi Magyar Umbria felelős szerkesztője és kiadója; Katolikus Magyarok Vasárnapja társzerkesztője

Life timeline

Birth

July 27, 1904

Szeged, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary

Entry into religious life

October 3, 1920

Perpetual vows

July 28, 1925

Priestly ordination

September 2, 1928

Service in the homeland

1928 – 1934

Pécs, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

Master of the College, Prefect, Ordinary and Lenten Preacher, Director of Spiritual Exercises

Service abroad

1934 – 1942

New Brunswick, NJ, USA

Szent László R. K. Egyházközség

parish priest

Service in the homeland

1934 – 1936

Jászberény, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

philosophy teacher

Service in the homeland

1936

Salgótarján, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

pastor

Service in the homeland

1942 – 1944

Debrecen, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

house manager, assistant pastor

Service in the homeland

1944 – 1946

Gyöngyös, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

Master of Theology, professor of philosophy and pastoral theology

Death

December 10, 1946

Sopronkőhida, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

Sources

MKL: Kiss;
http://www.ppek.hu/k289.htm;✕
Máté: 212.;
Shvoy: 35.;
Török: 408.;
HSZI: 486-502.;
Káldor-II.;
https://www.mindszentyalapitvany.hu/alapitvany/kiallitasok/conti-az-en-fegyhazam/sorstarsak-conti-utcaban/isten-szolgaja-kiss-szalez✓
http://www.rev.hu/sulinet45/szerviz/kislex/biograf/kissszalez.htm✕
https://gyongyos.ofm.hu/p-kis-szalez-csaladja/✓
https://kekesonline.hu/2023/07/30/gyongyos-varos-vertanuja-p-kiss-laszlo-szalez-ofm/✓
https://rubicon.hu/hu/cikkek/mindenkinek-megbocsatva-varta-a-kivegzeset✓
http://www.kiss.szalez.ofm.hu/✕
http://mandadb.hu/common/file-servlet/document/965634/default/doc_url/new_brunswick_szent_laszlo.pdf✓

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Citation for this entry

Kiss László Szaléz OFM, Isten szolgája: 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=548 (accessed: 2026-07-07).

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