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

Peéri László Bonaventura OFM

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Deceased

Birth data:: Csáktornya, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Čakovec, Croatia — January 17, 1887
Death data:: Baja, Hungary — February 28, 1934
Denomination:: Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:: religious
Diocese / Order:: ferences (Ordo Fratrum Minorum) (Kapisztránus rendtartomány)

Ordination level:: priest
Entry into religious life:: January 17, 1897
Perpetual vows:: September 13, 1906
Place of burial:: Baja, Hungary
Other name used:: Peéry

Biographical data

László Bonaventura Peéri was born on January 17, 1887, in Csáktornya. He entered the Franciscan Order on January 17, 1897, while still in high school. He took his perpetual vows on September 13, 1906, and was ordained a priest on July 1, 1909. In Hungary, he served in Szeged, Siklós, and Gyöngyös, including as a house superior. In 1922, commissioned by the Capistran Province, he arrived in the United States, where, as the first Hungarian Franciscan, he took over the leadership of St. Stephen’s Hungarian Parish in New York. Through his work, he laid the foundation for the North American mission of the Hungarian Franciscans, which later began to develop independently. His pastoral work was not limited to New York: he regularly visited Hungarian communities on the East Coast, undertook missionary tours, and maintained contact with the Hungarian Province. He served in the United States for eleven years. Due to a serious cancer, he returned to Hungary in 1933, where he passed away on February 28, 1934, in Baja. He was laid to rest in the Franciscan cemetery in Baja.

Domestic service locations

From	To	Place i	Current name, country i	Position
1909	1920 before	Siklós, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	routine tasks
1909	1920 before	Gyöngyös, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	routine tasks
1920 after	1922 circa	Szeged, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	routine duties, house manager
1934		Baja, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	on sick leave

Foreign service locations

From	To	Place	Current name, country	Church / institution	Position
1922	1932	New York, NY, USA		Szent István R. K. Egyházközség	parish priest (the first Franciscan parish priest)

Life timeline

Birth

January 17, 1887

Csáktornya, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Čakovec, Croatia

Entry into religious life

January 17, 1897

Perpetual vows

September 13, 1906

Service in the homeland

1909 – 1920

Siklós, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

routine tasks

Service in the homeland

1909 – 1920

Gyöngyös, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

routine tasks

Service in the homeland

1920 – 1922

Szeged, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

routine duties, house manager

Service abroad

1922 – 1932

New York, NY, USA

Szent István R. K. Egyházközség

parish priest (the first Franciscan parish priest)

Death

February 28, 1934

Baja, Hungary

Service in the homeland

1934

Baja, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

on sick leave

Sources

http://archivum.ferencesek.hu/letoltes/schem/Cap.1925.Schem.pdf✓
MKL: Peéry;
Máté: 216-217.;
Török: 227, 406.

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Citation for this entry

Peéri László Bonaventura OFM: 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=861 (accessed: 2026-07-07).

Last modified: July 3, 2026 12:25 | Opened: 86 times