Imre Kozma (born 4 June 1940) is a Hungarian Roman Catholic priest, the founder of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, patron of East German refugees arriving to Hungary in 1988-89.
Imre Kozma in 2013
Biographyedit
Imre Kozma was born in 1940 in Győrzámoly. His father died in a train accident in 1941 and he was raised by his mother and grandmother. He completed his secondary education in 1958 at Czuczor Gergely Benedictine Secondary School. Subsequently he studied theology at the Esztergom Seminary. He was ordained as a priest in 1963; first he became the curate of Tát and Dorog, then he served at the Holy Family Parish in Zugliget (Budapest) from 1966 to 1968. He served at the Church of Saint Peter of Alcantara, better known as the Franciscan Church of Pest from 1968 until 1977. Subsequently he returned to Zugliget, where he arranged a regular youth and family pastoral care. He organized his first charity event here and he served in Zugliget until 1997.
In 1987 with Baroness Csilla von Boeselager they decided to found a charity service, embodying the values of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, to help the poor. Due to the fact that organisations of that kind were not allowed in Hungary in the 1980’s, Csilla von Boeselager established the charity service in Germany as Ungarischer Malteser Caritas-Dienst. In 1989, given the fact that legal obstacles ceased to exist, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was founded and Father Kozma became a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
On 13 August 1989, after celebrating his Sunday Mass, he was asked by the consul of West Germany in Budapest to help accommodate and take care of the East German refugees, who were flooding into Hungary and thus, paralysing the embassy’s work. Kozma agreed to that without the slightest hesitation. As he said it later: "A medieval interpretation of the church has come to life again: Shelter". Refugees from East Germany were accommodated by the Parish in Zugliget from 14 August. That very evening nearly a thousand people were sheltered but the following months a series of new sanctuaries provided for almost 48 600 people altogether. The consulate of West Germany even moved to the garden of the parish for a time. These events captured the attention of the leadership of East Germany as well; a list of 101 people was compiled of people they were planning to take to the International Court of Justice, with Imre Kozma in the lead, for helping those who violated the laws of "Sovereign East Germany".[1]
The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was facing another humanitarian crisis in December, at the time of the Romanian revolution; then they gathered twenty-two truckloads of donations and transported them to Transylvania. At the time of the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s Father Kozma managed to convince the Serbian commander of Vukovar to let those elderly and young, who were trapped in the city, to flee to Hungary. Since then, the Charity service has built a countrywide network and it is one of the biggest charity services of Hungary. Kozma has joined the Humanitarian Medical Order of the Order of Malta and he took his vow in 1999; later he became the preceptor in Budapest. He arranged the reintroduction of the Order in Hungary and successfully reclaimed their hospitals in Vác and Budapest in 2000.
Acknowledgements: He has been acknowledged in many ways for his humanitarian efforts in Hungary and abroad as well.
1992 - Protonotary apostolic (an honorary prelate of the Pope with the style Monsignor)
^"'Forced Foreign Ideology Became Too Much for East Germans' – Interview on the Pan-European Picnic with Father Imre Kozma". Hungary Today. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
^We just wanted to help and we ended up "in politics" (Csak segíteni akartunk, s a politika területére „tévedtünk"). Kozma Imre atya visszaemlékezése, 3 March 2014. A Terror Háza Múzeum tulajdonában.
April 11, 2024
imre, kozma, native, form, this, personal, name, kozma, imre, this, article, uses, western, name, order, when, mentioning, individuals, born, june, 1940, hungarian, roman, catholic, priest, founder, hungarian, charity, service, sovereign, military, order, malt. The native form of this personal name is Kozma Imre This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals Imre Kozma born 4 June 1940 is a Hungarian Roman Catholic priest the founder of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta patron of East German refugees arriving to Hungary in 1988 89 Imre Kozma in 2013Biography editImre Kozma was born in 1940 in Gyorzamoly His father died in a train accident in 1941 and he was raised by his mother and grandmother He completed his secondary education in 1958 at Czuczor Gergely Benedictine Secondary School Subsequently he studied theology at the Esztergom Seminary He was ordained as a priest in 1963 first he became the curate of Tat and Dorog then he served at the Holy Family Parish in Zugliget Budapest from 1966 to 1968 He served at the Church of Saint Peter of Alcantara better known as the Franciscan Church of Pest from 1968 until 1977 Subsequently he returned to Zugliget where he arranged a regular youth and family pastoral care He organized his first charity event here and he served in Zugliget until 1997 In 1987 with Baroness Csilla von Boeselager they decided to found a charity service embodying the values of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to help the poor Due to the fact that organisations of that kind were not allowed in Hungary in the 1980 s Csilla von Boeselager established the charity service in Germany as Ungarischer Malteser Caritas Dienst In 1989 given the fact that legal obstacles ceased to exist the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was founded and Father Kozma became a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta On 13 August 1989 after celebrating his Sunday Mass he was asked by the consul of West Germany in Budapest to help accommodate and take care of the East German refugees who were flooding into Hungary and thus paralysing the embassy s work Kozma agreed to that without the slightest hesitation As he said it later A medieval interpretation of the church has come to life again Shelter Refugees from East Germany were accommodated by the Parish in Zugliget from 14 August That very evening nearly a thousand people were sheltered but the following months a series of new sanctuaries provided for almost 48 600 people altogether The consulate of West Germany even moved to the garden of the parish for a time These events captured the attention of the leadership of East Germany as well a list of 101 people was compiled of people they were planning to take to the International Court of Justice with Imre Kozma in the lead for helping those who violated the laws of Sovereign East Germany 1 The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta was facing another humanitarian crisis in December at the time of the Romanian revolution then they gathered twenty two truckloads of donations and transported them to Transylvania At the time of the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s Father Kozma managed to convince the Serbian commander of Vukovar to let those elderly and young who were trapped in the city to flee to Hungary Since then the Charity service has built a countrywide network and it is one of the biggest charity services of Hungary Kozma has joined the Humanitarian Medical Order of the Order of Malta and he took his vow in 1999 later he became the preceptor in Budapest He arranged the reintroduction of the Order in Hungary and successfully reclaimed their hospitals in Vac and Budapest in 2000 Acknowledgements He has been acknowledged in many ways for his humanitarian efforts in Hungary and abroad as well 1992 Protonotary apostolic an honorary prelate of the Pope with the style Monsignor 1992 Szechenyi Prize 1995 prize for supporting the minorities Kisebbsegekert dij 1999 Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Malta 2003 Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Commander s Cross 2005 Prima Primissima Prize 2007 Mindszenty medal 2010 Chevalier of the Legion of Honour France 2013 Sandor Giesswein medalSources 2 3 4 References edit Forced Foreign Ideology Became Too Much for East Germans Interview on the Pan European Picnic with Father Imre Kozma Hungary Today 14 August 2019 Retrieved 17 August 2019 Rendszervaltok Kozma atya lt http kozmaimre hu archivum category ujsagcikkek gt 26 November 2014 Biography Father Kozma Imre s website lt http kozmaimre hu eletrajz gt 26 November 2014 We just wanted to help and we ended up in politics Csak segiteni akartunk s a politika teruletere tevedtunk Kozma Imre atya visszaemlekezese 3 March 2014 A Terror Haza Muzeum tulajdonaban Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Imre Kozma amp oldid 1182512742, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
