Kalocsa, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary — December 21, 1929
Biographical data
An American-born Hungarian Roman Catholic priest who served as pastor of the Hungarian Holy Trinity Parish in East Chicago for several decades. He was born in Joliet, Illinois, to a Hungarian family. He completed his theological studies in Hungary and prepared for the priesthood in Kalocsa. He was ordained a subdeacon on June 16, 1929, a deacon on November 3, and a priest on December 21, 1929. After his ordination, he returned to the United States, where he entered the service of the Diocese of Fort Wayne. His first known place of ministry was East Chicago, where he served as an assistant pastor from 1930 to 1931. He was subsequently assigned to Gary, where he served as a pastor beginning in 1932. He took over leadership of the Hungarian Holy Trinity Parish in East Chicago in the mid-1930s. The parish was one of the significant Hungarian Catholic communities established in the early 20th century: its first church was built by Benedek Rajcsányi in 1906, and its first permanent pastor was Oszkár Szilágyi, OSB, who took office in 1907. The parish school was built in 1928, and instruction was provided by the Daughters of Divine Love. During Sipos’s tenure, the parish served not only as a religious center but also as a social and cultural hub for East Chicago’s Hungarian population. A work on the city’s history published in 1947 specifically documented its activities. In 1937, Sipos purchased a large building for the parish, located just one block from the church. The property was converted into a community and recreation hall, which hosted parish events and also served as a significant source of income for the parish. His long tenure in East Chicago is also documented by contemporary secular sources. The Hammond Times, 1948. This serves as direct contemporary evidence that he was still actively serving the Hungarian Catholics in the area in the late 1940s. Sipos was associated with the Holy Trinity Parish in East Chicago for nearly three decades. A significant portion of his priesthood fell during the period when Hungarian ethnic parishes established in the United States still functioned as independent institutions, providing for the religious life of Hungarian immigrants and their descendants. His pastoral work thus also served to preserve the Hungarian-speaking and cultural community. In 1962, he retired from active parish ministry. After his retirement, he lived first in Hammond and then, beginning in 1972, in Highland. He remained connected to the local Catholic community and the Diocese of Gary. He passed away in Hammond on March 28, 1983, at the age of 78, after more than fifty-three years of priestly service.
Sipos D. József: 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=991 (accessed: 2026-09-13).
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