A Hungarian Piarist monk, teacher, school principal, and one of the founders of the American Piarist Province. As a leading figure in the post-World War II Hungarian Piarist emigration, he played a key role in establishing the Order in the United States, founding Devon Preparatory School, and leading it for its first thirteen years. As the first general delegate of the Piarist communities operating in the United States, he was also one of the leading figures in the development of the American branch of the order.
He was born on August 20, 1912, in Szentjakabfa. His brother, Ferenc Senye, also became a Piarist priest. He entered the order on August 27, 1928, in Vác, where he received the religious name Saint Imre. He studied in France on two occasions, in 1932 and 1936. He took his perpetual vows on June 16, 1937, and was ordained a priest two days later, on June 18, 1937. He earned a teaching degree in Hungarian and French, and at the start of his career, he taught at the Piarist high school in Budapest and later at the Piarist high school in Vác. From 1946 to 1949, he served as principal of the Piarist high school in Vác.
In 1949, prior to the dissolution of the religious orders, he left Hungary together with his brother. He traveled to the West via Austria and then emigrated to the United States, where he joined the first community of Hungarian Piarists. In 1951, he helped organize the first American Piarist house in Buffalo and later in Derby. At that time, the members of the community were still teaching in diocesan schools while working to establish their own educational institution.
In 1953, he became a teacher at Father Baker High School in Lackawanna, New York. In 1955, at the invitation of Archbishop John F. O’Hara of Philadelphia, the Piarist community moved to Pennsylvania. István Senye played a leading role in the establishment of an independent Piarist school: on September 7, 1955, he signed the contract for the purchase of the Lerner estate in Devon, which became the site of the future Devon Preparatory School.
The school opened its doors on September 8, 1956, and István Senye became its first headmaster. He led the institution until 1969, shaping its ethos and educational philosophy. Under his leadership, Devon Preparatory School developed into one of the best-known Catholic boys’ schools on the East Coast. Subsequent school histories continue to regard him as the institution’s de facto founder and first headmaster.
On August 25, 1966, the Superior General of the Piarist Order appointed him general delegate of the Piarist communities operating in the United States. His responsibilities included coordinating the work of the American houses of the Order, overseeing the Order’s formation, and organizing new communities. He held this position concurrently with his leadership of Devon Prep.
In 1969, he resigned from his positions as principal and order leader, and later that same year, he left the Piarist Order. He subsequently continued his ministry as a diocesan priest. In the 1970s, he worked in Washington, D.C., although the exact nature of his assignment is currently unknown. He later married and lived a secular life.
He passed away on July 29, 2000, at the age of 87. His last place of residence was Northfield, New Jersey.

Az őrs megteremtése. In: Közrem. Kemenes Gáspár, Macsik Hugó, Szemenyei László. Budapest, 1944.