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

Raile Jakab SJ

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Deceased

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Birth data:: Vaskút, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary — October 6, 1894
Death data:: Newark, NJ, USA — September 6, 1949
Denomination:: Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:: religious
Diocese / Order:: jezsuita (Societas Jesu)

Ordination level:: priest
Entry into religious life:: Nagyszombat, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Trenčín, Slovakia — August 14, 1912
Priestly ordination:: Innsbruck, Austria — 1925
Place of burial:: Jesuit Cemetery at Campion Center
Weston, MA, USA

Biographical data

He came from an Irish family that had settled in Hungary. His parents were Antal Raile and Rózsa Faldum. He had five siblings; he was the youngest. He entered the order in Nagyszombat on August 14, 1912. After completing his novitiate, he finished high school in Kalocsa. He studied philosophy in Innsbruck from 1917 to 1918 and then in Szeged in 1922. From 1923 to 1926, he studied theology in Innsbruck, where he was ordained a priest in 1925. During World War II, as chairman of the Aid Committee of the Papal Nunciature in Budapest, he organized his fellow Jesuits and family members to provide assistance to many persecuted people; for this, he was posthumously awarded the Jad Vasem Prize in Jerusalem on He was posthumously awarded the Yad Vashem Prize in Jerusalem. Raile Jakab (based on the recollections of Nagy Töhötöm and Jenő Thassy) was mentioned alongside Mindszenty as a candidate for the archbishopric of Esztergom.
In 1948, he returned to the United States, where, in 1949, he was involved in a fatal car accident while riding in a vehicle driven by János Gáspár, the parish priest of Passaic. Meanwhile, in Hungary, proceedings were initiated against him on charges of “currency speculation” and other offenses.

Domestic service locations

From	To	Place i	Current name, country i	Church / institution	Position
1934	1935	Szeged, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary		property manager, administrative assistant
1936	1941	Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary	Hungary	Jezsuita Tartományfőnökség	the provincial superior’s deputy, the administrator of financial affairs
1941	1948	Budapest, Hungary			pastor

Foreign service locations

From	To	Place	Church / institution	Position
1923	1926	Innsbruck, Austria		theological studies
1927		Bécs, Austria	Lainz	tercia
1928	1932	New York, NY, USA		Hungarian pastor
1932	1933	Passaic, NJ, USA	Szent István R. K. Magyar Egyházközség	parish priest
1948		South Norwalk, CT, USA		Hungarian pastor
1948		Keyser, WV, USA		Hungarian pastor
1949		Boston, MA, USA		appointed university professor, Hungarian pastor

Life timeline

Birth

October 6, 1894

Vaskút, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Hungary

Entry into religious life

August 14, 1912

Nagyszombat, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Trenčín, Slovakia

Service abroad

1923 – 1926

Innsbruck, Austria

theological studies

Priestly ordination

1925

Innsbruck, Austria

Service abroad

1927

Bécs, Austria

Lainz

tercia

Service abroad

1928 – 1932

New York, NY, USA

Hungarian pastor

Service abroad

1932 – 1933

Passaic, NJ, USA

Szent István R. K. Magyar Egyházközség

parish priest

Service in the homeland

1934 – 1935

Szeged, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

property manager, administrative assistant

Service in the homeland

1936 – 1941

Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, currently Hungary

Jezsuita Tartományfőnökség

the provincial superior’s deputy, the administrator of financial affairs

Service in the homeland

1941 – 1948

Budapest, Hungary

pastor

Service abroad

1948

South Norwalk, CT, USA

Hungarian pastor

Service abroad

1948

Keyser, WV, USA

Hungarian pastor

Death

September 6, 1949

Newark, NJ, USA

Service abroad

1949

Boston, MA, USA

appointed university professor, Hungarian pastor

Sources

http://www.ststephenspassaic.com/history/plebanos/revrai.htm✓
Dudás: 14.;
Török: 199, 240.;
Bikfalvi: 189.;
Hirlap, 1949-02-25., pp. 3.;
KMV: 1987-02-08., pp. 3.;
https://leveltar.jezsuita.hu/index.php/hu/node/910✓

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Citation for this entry

Raile Jakab 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=911 (accessed: 2026-07-10).

Last modified: July 9, 2026 14:58 | Opened: 12 times