Lajos Kada (Budapest, November 16, 1924 – Budapest, November 26, 2002) was a Roman Catholic archbishop, Vatican diplomat, apostolic nuncio, and one of the most prominent diplomats in modern Hungarian church history. He was the first Apostolic Nuncio of Hungarian descent, as well as the first Hungarian to attain such a high rank in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in senior positions within the Roman Curia.

He was born in Budapest on November 16, 1924. He studied as a priest in the Archdiocese of Esztergom, and was then sent to Rome by József Mindszenty, where he was a student at the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum from 1946 to 1951. Subsequently, from 1951 to 1953, he served as a pastor to Hungarian Catholics in Italy, after which he joined Caritas Internationalis.

From 1955 to 1957, as a student at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, he prepared for the diplomatic service. He was the first Hungarian student at the institution, which trains diplomats for the Holy See, and thus became the first Hungarian to enter the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He began his career at the Secretariat of State, then served in diplomatic posts in Pakistan (1959–1962), the Scandinavian countries, Bonn (1964–1971), and Argentina (1971). In 1974, he joined the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

In 1971, he became a staff member of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. In 1975, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Costa Rica, where he served until 1984; from 1980 onward, he also represented the Holy See in El Salvador. From 1984 to 1991, he served as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, becoming the first Hungarian to hold the second-highest leadership position in a Vatican congregation. From 1991 to 1995, he served as apostolic nuncio to Germany, and then from 1995 to 2000, to Spain. His appointment to Madrid is also noteworthy because he was the first Apostolic Nuncio to Spain who was not of Italian nationality.

His work was recognized with numerous honors. In 1992, he received the Middle Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, and in 2000, King John Charles I awarded him the Grand Cross of the Catholic Order of Isabella.

He retired from Vatican service upon reaching the mandatory retirement age. After more than fifty years of service abroad, he returned to Hungary and became actively involved in Hungarian church life. He regularly led retreats and gave lectures in Hungary, as well as in the Hungarian-populated areas of the Carpathian Basin. Even while battling illness, he tirelessly visited communities and paid special attention to supporting Hungarian Catholics living across the border and in exile.

He played a significant role in strengthening relations between the Hungarian Church and the Holy See. When Hungary’s diplomatic mission to the Vatican was reestablished in 1990, he supported its work with his experience and advice. During the Pope’s visit to Hungary in 1991, he became known to a wider circle of Hungarian believers when he served as the Pope’s interpreter.

Lajos Kada passed away on November 26, 2002, in Budapest.