Imprisoned with Mindszenty – ordination in prison

Guided tour of the Court of Justice building in the Castle District Visitors' Center, where József Mindszenty, Bishop of Veszprém, was imprisoned on December 7, 1944.where József Mindszenty, Bishop of Veszprém, ordained 10 priests from the diocese on December 7, 1944, and 6 priests from Transylvania on December 10. The commemorative walk will be led by Dr. György Udvardy, Metropolitan Archbishop of Veszprém.

On December 7, 1944, and then three days later, a memorable event took place in the corridor of the Veszprém castle: Bishop József Mindszenty ordained the arrested fifth-year theology students as priests. "It was a special ordination! The ordaining priest was a prisoner, and those being ordained were prisoners. Each of the ten seminarians had only one candle, one stole, and one chasuble, but each had an armed guard," recalls the bishop in his memoirs.

One of the ordained priests, József Párkányi, recalls the events as follows: "It was a wonderful feeling that we were not prisoners in our souls; our existence in God always makes us free. The spirit of József Mindszenty and his young priests also influenced their prison guards: ""We must remember with great respect the priests of Veszprém, who gave us work, but whose presence here was much more of a blessing. The many Holy Masses, primacy, consecrations, and their exemplary behavior were of great value to us. Without exception, they were all true models of priests."