He was born in Budapest on May 25, 1900. He was the scion of a very wealthy family of jewelers, so when his son announced that he felt called to the religious life, his family disowned him. In 1936, he entered the Franciscan Order, specifically the Franciscan Province named after St. John of Capistrano. According to the order’s directory of names and titles published in 1994, at the time of his death he had been a monk for 43 years and a priest for 37 years; therefore, his ordination to the priesthood likely took place around 1942. The obituary entry in the Order’s 1979 directory lists him as 80 years old, having been a monk for 43 years and a priest for 37 years.
From 1942, he served at the Holy Land Monastery in Budapest, and subsequently worked at several different monastic posts in Hungary. In 1950, he left the country. Little is known at this time about the next decade and a half of his life; In 1965, he emigrated to the United States.
The first known stop on his journey in the United States was Roebling, New Jersey, in 1967. He then served in New York from 1967 to 1970. From 1971 to 1973, he worked in DeWitt, Michigan; from 1974 to 1975, in Flemington, New Jersey; and then, starting in 1976, he returned to DeWitt. In his final year, 1979, he resided in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
During his years in the United States, he also used an anglicized form of his name. In the list of ex libris by graphic artist Nándor Németh, he is listed as “Ft. János Simor O.F.M.” in 1967 and as “Fr. John J. Simor O.F.M.” in 1968. An ex libris created for him in 1968 bears the inscription “St. Joseph du Mont Royal,” which refers to his connection with the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal; however, the exact nature of this connection remains unclear.
János Simor passed away on May 9, 1979, in the United States. According to data from U.S. death records, a person registered under the name John Simor, born on May 25, 1900, died in May 1979; his last known place of residence was Milwaukee, Wisconsin; based on the date of birth and death records, he can be identified as János Ferenc Simor.
Domestic service locations
From
To
Place i
Current name, country i
Church / institution
Position
1942
1950 circa
Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
Hungary
Szentföldi rendház, majd számos különböző szolgálati helyen.
A monastery in the Holy Land, and then at various other places of service.
Simor János 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=995 (accessed: 2026-09-13).
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