History
The Saint Stephen’s Foundation was founded by the Prelate of Honour of His Holiness, József Zágon, on 15 December 1965, with the aim of creating/building an ecclesiastical institution for Hungarian priests, who had emigrated to Rome after having been forced in 1964 (including Zágon himself) to leave the Pontifical Hungarian Ecclesiastical Institute. In order to help the priests in difficulty, Elisabeth Fay came to the rescue. By virtue of her considerable inheritance, she offered to bear the construction costs of St Stephen’s House and also to fulfil the old dream of our holy founding king. It was Mrs Fay herself who convinced Prelate Zágon of the dual functionality of the house inaugurated in 1967 and that it could serve not only as a priest’s house but also as a home for Hungarian pilgrims arriving in Rome, entrusting its management to the Foundation led by Zágon.
The founding members of the Foundation, in addition to József Zágon, included István Mester, Prelate of the Antechamber; Gábor Apor, the last ambassador of the Hungarian Embassy to the Holy See, later closed down by Communist Hungary; Gyula Magyary, His Holiness’ Prelate of Honour; Sándor Csertő, Prelate of Antichamber; Gellért Békés, O.S.B. and Balázs Fűz, O. Cist.
After Zágon’s death, the Foundation was presided over by István Mester and Archbishop Lajos Kada. Following the latter’s appointment as Apostolic Nuncio in Bonn, the position was held first by Donát Leloczky O. Cist, then by József Ruppert, SchP and László Németh, responsible for the pastoral care of Hungarians in Italy.
On 28 May 2020, the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference purchased St Stephen’s House and entrusted its management to the St Stephen of Hungary Foundation for Worship and Religion; thus the Foundation will no longer be the owner but the manager. At the same time, the entire five-member board was reorganised, and the new president of the Foundation became Norbert Németh, Rector of the Pontifical Hungarian Ecclesiastical Institute.
In November 2022, the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference (CEU) also entrusted the management of the Villa Mater Redemptoris Holiday Home to the Saint Stephen of Hungary Foundation for Worship and Religion.
