Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad

Kótai Zoltán Ádám, dr

Kótai Zoltán Ádám, dr
Deceased
Birth data:
Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary — May 24, 1914
Death data:
Phillipsburg, NJ, USA — July 30, 1980
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
diocesan
Diocese / Order:
Vác
Ordination level:
priest
Priestly ordination:
1946
Biographical data
He graduated from Madách High School in Budapest in 1933. He completed his theological studies in Vác and Budapest. He was ordained a priest on July 26, 1938. He received his doctorate in theology in 1946. From 1946 to 1950, as a papal envoy entrusted with all Hungarian Catholic affairs in occupied Germany and Austria, he led a search mission. He acquired Argentine citizenship. In 1950, he founded the Kárpát Publishing Company in Buenos Aires, then relocated it to Cleveland, OH, USA, in 1959. The publishing house released more than 100 books. He edited numerous Hungarian-language newspapers in the U.S. and, by merging them, created the Magyar Újság. He fell ill in his car, lost consciousness, and died in the hospital within a few hours.
Domestic service locations
From To Place i Current name, country i Church / institution Position
1938 1940 Magyarnándor, Kingdom of Hungary Hungary assistant pastor
1940 1943 Vác, Kingdom of Hungary Hungary episcopal secretary
1943 1945 Rákospalota, Kingdom of Hungary XV. kerület, Hungary religious educator
1945 Kőszeg, Kingdom of Hungary Hungary camp chaplain
Foreign service locations
From To Place Current name, country Church / institution Position
1945 1950 Austria A papal legate entrusted with the affairs of all Hungarian Catholics, both clerical and lay (appointed to the territories of Austria and Germany)
1950 1958 Buenos Aires, Argentína Hungarian pastor (from 1950 to 1953 and from 1956 to 1958); coordinator of Hungarian missionaries in Argentina from 1953 to 1956
1958 1959 Cleveland, OH, USA Szent Patrik templom visiting priest
1960 1980 USA book publisher, newspaper editor; around 1969, Hungarian pastor in Akron, OH, USA
Literary activity
Máriának, Jézus anyjának élete. Írta Franz Michel Willam. Ford. Bp., 1944. (2. kiad. Landshut, 1948; 3. kiad. Cleveland, 1973) Altöttingi zarándoklat. München, 1947. (névtelenül) Mindszenty József bíb. érsek-prímás látogatása 1974 tavaszán a clevelandi egyhm-ben. Cleveland, 1975. (1975: az Árpád Akad. Árpád aranyérmét nyerte) 1947–1949: a landshuti Iránytű és Compass kiadója és szerk-je, 1949–1953: Buenos Airesben a Délamerikai Magyarság szerk-je, 1952–1955(?): a Magyar Könyvbarátok Diáriuma kiadója, 1 1957–1973: a Kárpát (1959–től Clevelandben), 1964–1968: a Kis Dongó, 1965–1973: Az Újság szerk-je, 1973–1976: a Detroiti Magyar Újság és az Akroni Magyar Újság, 1976–1980: a Magyar Újság kiadója.
Life timeline
Birth
Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary
Service in the homeland
19381940
Magyarnándor, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary
assistant pastor
Service in the homeland
19401943
Vác, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary
episcopal secretary
Service in the homeland
19431945
Rákospalota, Kingdom of Hungary, currently XV. kerület, Hungary
religious educator
Service abroad
19451950
Austria
A papal legate entrusted with the affairs of all Hungarian Catholics, both clerical and lay (appointed to the territories of Austria and Germany)
Service in the homeland
Kőszeg, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary
camp chaplain
Priestly ordination
Service abroad
19501958
Buenos Aires, Argentína
Hungarian pastor (from 1950 to 1953 and from 1956 to 1958); coordinator of Hungarian missionaries in Argentina from 1953 to 1956
Service abroad
19581959
Cleveland, OH, USA
Szent Patrik templom
visiting priest
Service abroad
19601980
USA
book publisher, newspaper editor; around 1969, Hungarian pastor in Akron, OH, USA
Death
Phillipsburg, NJ, USA
Sources
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Citation for this entry
Kótai Zoltán Ádám, dr: 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=597 (accessed: 2026-07-07).
Last modified: June 11, 2026 13:20 | Opened: 67 times