Sárváry—referred to as Joseph J. Sarvary in American sources and as Sasváry in some Hungarian sources—József was born on September 21, 1898, in Csepregen.
He graduated from high school in 1919, but had already been a minor seminarian since 1915; he then completed his theological studies in Pécs from 1918 to 1923.
Upon completing his studies, he was ordained a priest on July 1, 1923, in Pécs for service in the Diocese of Pécs. After his ordination, he served in Mecsekszabolcs as an assistant pastor until 1927; from 1932 to 1933, he was administrator in Kajdacs; and from 1933 to 1936, he served as parish priest there.
Even at the time of his ordination, he had been considering emigrating to the United States, but he did not carry out his plan until 1936. At that time, at the request of József Reseterics, the parish priest of Bethlehem, Bishop Ferenc Virág granted him a three-year leave of absence.
Upon his arrival in the United States, he became an assistant pastor—or, as American sources put it, “assistant rector”—at St. John of Capistrano Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which operated under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Philadelphia.
His ministry in the United States was extremely brief. In January 1937, he developed serious health problems; he was diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer, and although he underwent surgery, he passed away on July 16, 1937, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown.
He is buried in Bethlehem, PA, USA.