László Paskai is a cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and the former archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest. He was one of the cardinal electors

Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 2005

The following is a list of the 115 cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave, arranged by region and, within each region, alphabetically. Two cardinals who were eligible to participate in the conclave, namely Adolfo Suarez Rivera and Jaime Sin, did not attend due to ill health.-Roman...

 who participated in the 2005 papal conclave

Papal conclave, 2005

The Papal conclave of 2005 was convened as a result of the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elect John Paul's successor. The conclave began on 18 April 2005 and ended on the following...

 that selected Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

.

Early life

László Paskai was born to Jewish parents who had converted to the Roman Catholic faith before the arrival of their son and who later died during the Holocaust.

Clerical Career

He was ordained a priest at the age of 23, on 3 March 1951, joining the Order of Friars Minor. After his ordaination he did pastoral ministry in the diocese of Nagyvarad before being sent to Budapest for further studies. In Szeged, he served as episcopal master of ceremonies from 1952 to 1955. After this he was a faculty member and librarian of its seminary, 1955-1962. Thereafter serving as prefect of the Interdiocesan Seminary, faculty member and spiritual director until 1965. He later served as a faculty member and spirtual director and finally rector of the Central Seminary, Budapest. On 2 March 1978 he was chosen to become Apostolic Administrator

Apostolic Administrator

An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...

 of Veszprém

Veszprém

Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.-Location:...

, becoming a bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 that same day, with the titular see

Titular see

A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....

 of Bavagaliana.

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 appointed him Archbishop of Veszprém

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Veszprém

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Veszprém is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. Believed to have been established in 1009 AD by King Stephen I of Hungary, as the Diocese of Veszprém, the diocese was originally a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Esztergom. In...

 on 31 March 1979. He was then appointed to serve as Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Esztergom on 3 March 1987. He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Teresa al Corso d'Italia. In 1993 the dioceses of Esztergom was united with that of Budapest, thus Cardinal Paskai was the first Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest. Cardinal Paskai retired as Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest in 2002.

Retirement

Since his retirement he has been living in Esztergom

Esztergom

Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....

-Szentgyörgymező

Szentgyörgymezo

Szentgyörgymező is the northern part of the city of Esztergom in Hungary, on the right bank of the river Danube. It was a separate village until 1895, when it was merged with the "Royal Esztergom" as 4th district, along with neighboring Víziváros and Szenttamás...

, not far from the St Adalbert basilica

Esztergom Basilica

The Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and St Adalbert is an ecclesiastic basilica in Esztergom, Hungary, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary...

. In 2005 Cardinal Paskai became the Spiritual Protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem (Orleans Obedience). In the same year he participated in the Papal Conclave

Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...

 which elected Pope Benedict XVI.

On 17 July 2011, he will celebrate the last in a series of requiems

Death and funeral of Otto von Habsburg

On 4 July 2011, Otto von Habsburg, also known as Otto of Austria, former head of the House of Habsburg and Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece and former Crown Prince and, by pretence, Emperor-King , of Austria-Hungary—or formally, of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia,...

 for Otto von Habsburg

Otto von Habsburg

Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...

, Hungary's last Crown Prince and since pretender

Pretender

A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

 to the throne, in St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest.