Page 19 - Priorities #43 2009-April

Monastery News
The Hungarian Catholic Mission:
Deva orphanage
an interview with Father Maurus
Can you tell me a little about the Hungarian
Catholic Mission?
The Hungarian Catholic Mis- sion wasn’t so named until 1994. In the late 60s, it was led by Hungarian priest Fa- ther Joseph Jaszovszky. They were operating at St. Patrick’s seminary. After Fr. Jaszovszky retired, Fr. Christopher Hites
led the Hungarian Catholic Misson. Upon his re- tirement, in 1994, I was asked by the Archbishop
of San Francisco to become the new pastor of the Hungarian Catholic Mission. The Hungarian Catho- lic Mission is governed by three purposes: first and most important, to gather the Hungarian Catholic community every Sunday to worship,to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in our mother tongue. Second is to cultivate and cherish our Hungarian language and culture. Each Sunday after Sunday’s Eucharist, the community gathers in the Student Dining Hall for a Hungarian social. We also organize and celebrate our national holidays in cooperation with a larger Hun- garian Community in the San Francisco Bay Area. And finally, the third purpose is to help the needy and the poor. We support several orphanages; an orphanage, started and operated by the Franciscan order in Deva, (part of present day Romania where Hungarian minorities live) and another one at Me- zokeresztes in Hungary, operated by Szervita nuns. After the fall of Communism in 1989, the Franciscan fathers and brothers reclaimed some of their mon- asteries and immediately opened an orphanage. By 2008, the Franciscans were taking care of more than
Helping those in need
Students at the newly refurbished dorm house in Deva.
Father Maurus.
Students at Deva school and orphanage perform a Hungarian traditional dance as part of the end of school ceremony.
2000 children. The Hungarian Catholic Mission has been supporting them for the last nine years, and the orphanage in Hungary for the last four years.
How does the Hungarian Catholic Mission raise funds for the orphanages and elderly homes?
First, I must say, the Hungarian Catholic Mission and the Hungarian community are extremely grate- ful to the Woodside Priory community for their support. If we did not have use of these facilities, we would not be able to give so much back to the needy. Every year we have two major fund-raising events; a picnic connected with the feast of St. Stephen in August, and a benefit dinner usually held the first weekend of November. Each event raises almost $6- $10,000. I should also mention that the Hungarian Boy and Girl Scouts operate out of Woodside Priory and has done so for decades under the auspices of the Hungarian Catholic mission. So, you see, the Hungarian Catholic Mission and Woodside Priory are about reaching out to others to help them, but also to provide a home to cultivate our Hungarian language and culture.
Have you gone back to Hungary and visited
the orphanages?
We don’t just send the money to the bank, we per- sonally deliver the money we raise to the orphan- ages. We visit these places not only for personal edification as a spiritual experience, but also so that we can foster a personal relationship with the people we are supporting.
To find out more about helping the Hungarian Catholic Mission, contact Father Maurus at mnemeth@prioryca.org or call (650) 851-8221.
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