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

Kövecses Géza SJ

← → PDF export

Deceased

✝

Birth data:: Győrszentiván, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Győr, Hungary — May 27, 1921
Death data:: Porto Alegre, Brazília — June 12, 1967
Denomination:: Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:: religious
Diocese / Order:: jezsuita (Societas Jesu)

Ordination level:: priest
Entry into religious life:: August 14, 1941
Priestly ordination:: Torino, Italy — 1950

Biographical data

He attended the Benedictine school in Győr starting in 1932 and graduated in 1940. In 1940–41, he studied at the seminary in Győr because his father opposed his becoming a Jesuit. He entered the Jesuit Order on August 14, 1941. In 1949, with the help of his brother who worked for the railroad, he defected; in 1950, he was ordained a priest by the Archbishop of Turin. From 1952, he served in Brazil, where he completed a degree in clinical psychology and became a spiritual director. In 1967, he was diagnosed with severe lung cancer; his spiritual diary was published in several languages.

Foreign service locations

From	To	Place	Current name, country	Church / institution	Position
1950	1952	Italy			pastor
1952	1967	Porto Alegre, Brazília			spiritual director, teacher

Literary activity

Sacerdotes y religiosos, Porto Alegre, 1961; Vocações Sacerdotais e Religiosas, Porto Alegre, 1962; Elegir a Dios, Madrid, 1967; Ontogenese da consciencia moral. Circulo Brasil. Psicol. Profunda 3. (1963) 14–48; Elección y discreción de Espiritus. Espinosa C. Los Ejercicios la luz del Vaticano II. Madrid, 1967; 322–341; A papnevelés lelki reformja. Szolgálat 9. (1971) 51–59; Comunicações. Porto Alegre, 1967; O Diario a morte., Santa Cruz A. de Curitiba, 1971.

Life timeline

Birth

May 27, 1921

Győrszentiván, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Győr, Hungary

Entry into religious life

August 14, 1941

Service abroad

1950 – 1952

Italy

pastor

Priestly ordination

1950

Torino, Italy

Service abroad

1952 – 1967

Porto Alegre, Brazília

spiritual director, teacher

Death

June 12, 1967

Porto Alegre, Brazília

Sources

Pongrácz Attila: Egy brazíliai magyar jezsuita élete és üzenete;
Gyászjelentése: https://dspace.oszk.hu/handle/20.500.12346/203390#
A fényképet a Jezsuita Levéltár és Rendtörténeti Könyvtár bocsátotta rendelkezésemre.

Images

Click an image to enlarge. Navigation: ← →, close: Esc.

Places related to this person on the map

● birth ● priestly ordination ● domestic service ● foreign service ● death ● burial

Related persons

Similar and related clergy

Citation for this entry

Kövecses Géza SJ: 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=604 (accessed: 2026-07-07).

Last modified: July 3, 2026 12:48 | Opened: 62 times