His Eminence Péter Pázmány | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal Archbishop of Esztergom Prince Primate of Hungary | |
 | |
| See | Esztergom |
| Appointed | 28 November 1616 |
| Term ended | 19 March 1637 |
| Predecessor | Ferenc Forgách |
| Successor | Imre Lósy |
| Other posts | Cardinal Priest of the Church ofSaint Jerome of the Croats (1632–1637), Provost ofTuróc (1616) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1596 |
| Consecration | 12 March 1617 by CardinalMelchior Klesl |
| Created cardinal | 19 November 1629 |
| Rank | Cardinal Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 October 1570 |
| Died | 19 March 1637(1637-03-19) (aged 66) |
| Buried | St Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava |
| Parents | Miklós Pázmány Margit Massai |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna & Pontifical Gregorian University |
| Signature |  |
| Coat of arms |  |
Péter Pázmány de Panasz,S.J. (Hungarian:panaszi Pázmány Péter,pronounced[ˈpɒnɒsiˈpaːzmaːɲˈpeːtɛr];Latin:Petrus Pazmanus;German:Peter Pazman;Slovak:Peter Pázmaň;[1] 4 October 1570 – 19 March 1637), was a HungarianJesuit who was a notedphilosopher,theologian,cardinal,pulpit orator andstatesman. He was an important figure in theCounter-Reformation inRoyal Hungary.
Pázmány's most important legacy was his creation of theHungarian literary language. As an orator he was dubbed "the HungarianCicero in the purple". In 1867, a street in Vienna, thePazmanitengasse, was named after him.
Pázmány was born in 1570 in Nagyvárad, in thePrincipality of Transylvania (todayOradea, Romania), the son of Miklós Pázmány,vice-ispán ofBihar County.[2] As a young man he was educated there and, under the Jesuits, inKolozsvár (Cluj), which is where he converted from theCalvinistReformed Church of Hungary toRoman Catholicism in 1583, partly under the influence of his stepmother, a Catholic. In 1587, he entered theSociety of Jesus.[3]
Upon entering theJesuit Order, Pázmány went through hisnovitiate atKraków, after which he studied philosophy inUniversity of Vienna (1589–1592), and then theology at theCollegio Romano inRome (now thePontifical Gregorian University) under St.Robert Bellarmine, S.J. (1592–1596), after which he wasordained to the priesthood there. He was made aDoctor of Theology in 1597.[2]
After his studies, Pázmány was sent toGraz, Austria, first serving on the staff of the Jesuit college there for a year, then lecturing in theology at theUniversity of Graz. In 1601, he was sent to the Society's establishment at Sellye (todayŠaľa, Slovakia), where his eloquence and dialectic won hundreds to Catholicism, including many of the noblest families. CountMiklós Esterházy andPál Rákóczi [hu] were among his converts.
In 1607 Pázmány entered the court of ArchbishopFerenc Forgách of Esztergom. The following year he attracted attention in theDiet of Hungary by his denunciation of the 8th point of thePeace of Vienna, which prohibited the Jesuits from acquiring landed property in Hungary. Particularly remarkable from this period is Pázmány'sGuide to Truth, which appeared in 1613. This manual was judged to have united all the advantages of scientific depth, methodical arrangement and popular style.
At the initiative of the archbishop and the request of KingMatthias II of Hungary,Pope Paul V, by anapostolic brief dated 5 March 1616, granted Pázmány permission to leave the Society of Jesus and to enter theSomascan Clerics Regular; he never left the Jesuit Order, however, so there was only the submission of a request by third parties and the granting of a permission to leave.[2]
On 25 April 1616 Pázmány was appointed theProvost ofTuróc (Slovak Turiec), and on 28 September he was appointed by theHoly See asArchbishop of Esztergom, thePrimate of Hungary. Pázmány was to become the soul of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in Hungary.
As the chief pastor of the Catholic Church in Hungary, Pázmány used every means in his power, short of absolute contravention of the laws, to obstruct and weakenProtestantism, which had risen during the 16th century. In 1619, he founded a seminary for theological candidates inTrnava, and in 1623 laid the foundations of a similar institution at Vienna, the still famousPázmáneum, at a cost of 200,000florins. In 1635, he contributed 100,000 florins towards the foundation of the university inTrnava. The Faculty of Theology was later turned intoPázmány Péter Catholic University, and the rest of the university became what is now known asEötvös Loránd University, which, from 1921 to 1950, was known as Péter Pázmány University. Its theological faculty became Catholic Péter Pázmány University, Budapest/Piliscsaba, in 1992.[4] Pázmány also built Jesuit colleges and schools atBratislava (Pressburg), andFranciscan monasteries atNové Zámky (Érsekújvár in Hungarian) andKremnica, all located in modernday Slovakia.
Pázmány played a considerable part in the politics of his day. It was chiefly due to him that the Diet of 1618 elected ArchdukeFerdinand to succeed the childless Matthias. He also repeatedly thwarted the martial ambitions ofGabriel Bethlen, and preventedGeorge I Rákóczi, over whom he had a great influence, from allying with theOttoman Empire and the Protestants.
Pázmány was created aCardinal Priest byPope Urban VIII in theconsistory of 19 November 1629. He received thered hat of a cardinal from the pope on 31 May 1629 at which time he was assigned for histitular church toSaint Jerome of the Croats.[2]
Pázmány died inPressburg in 1637 and was buried underneath the floor ofSt. Martin's Cathedral, at the foot of the ancient tomb of St.John the Almsgiver, which he had embellished during his reign.[2]
Pázmány's grave was discovered during reconstruction on 12 September 1859 bythe Rev. Ferdinand Knauz and others. They found the body dry yet almost intact. His face was missing the nose and lips but was still bearded, and he still had hisbiretta on his head with some hair underneath. He was wearing red damaskvestments and had simple leather shoes on his feet.[5]
Grazer philosophische Disputationen von Péter Pázmány, ed. Paul Richard Blum[1][2] and Emil Hargittay, Piliscsaba (Katholische Péter-Pázmány-Universität) 2003.
Pázmány Péter és kora [P. P. and his times], ed. Emil Hargittay, Piliscsaba (Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem) 2001.
Péter Pázmány was commemorated by Hungary by issuing six postage stamps on 25 September 1935.[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Pázmány, Péter".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). p. 2.| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Archbishop of Esztergom 28 November 1616 – 19 March 1637 | Succeeded by |
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