Rudnai, Sandor

Alexander (Sandor) Rudnai was born on October 4, 1760 in the village of Saint-Kerest ( Hungarian. Szentkereszt ), the Kingdom of Hungary (modern Povazany , Slovak. Považany in Slovakia ) in a family of a landowner.

He was educated at the gymnasium in Nitra and at the academy in Trnava . He continued his studies at the University of Buda, where he studied philosophy and theology. In 1784, he received a doctorate in theology from the University of Pest. He was ordained a priest on October 12, 1783 , was a parish priest in several Slovak settlements. In 1806 he became rector and professor of theology at Esztergom seminary.

On March 8, 1816, Rudnai was appointed bishop of Transylvania, Erdel, Siebenbürgen; modern diocese of Alba Julia ( Transylvania , Romania ). The ordination took place on April 21, 1816 . On December 17, 1819, Rudnai was elected pope to the post of Esztergom archbishop and primacy of Hungary , the highest post in the Hungarian church hierarchy.

The Hungarian city of Esztergom has historically been the religious and spiritual center of Hungary since the arrival of the Hungarians on the Danube . The first Christian king of Hungary, Istvan the Holy , was crowned in Esztergom, and here he built the first Christian church. In 1543, during the Turkish invasion, Esztergom was captured, and the cathedral was almost completely destroyed. The Esztergom archbishops were forced to relocate their residence to Trnava (Hungarian. Nadsombat, Nagyszombat; modern Slovakia ). Despite the fact that most of Hungary was liberated from the Turks at the end of the XVII century after the Battle of Vienna , the primacy department remained in Trnava until 1820.

After his appointment, Rudnai, with the full approval of Emperor Franz II, decided to transfer the archbishopric chair back to Esztergom. Rudnai initiated construction of a grandiose cathedral on the site of the destruction by the Turks, which was supposed to return Esztergom to the status of the religious capital of Hungary. The initial design of the basilica was created by the architect Pal Künel, and the construction work was led by Janos Pakkh. The first stone of the future main cathedral of the country was laid in 1822 .

In 1826, Rudnai became a cardinal in pectore , that is, his election remained a secret. On December 15, 1828, the election of Rudnai as a cardinal was opened.

Rudnai did not live to see the completion of the construction of his main brainchild, the Esztergom Cathedral. He died on September 13, 1831 , and the Basilica of St. Adalbert was consecrated only in 1856. After the construction of the cathedral, Rudnai was reburied in his crypt .

During his tenure as archbishop, Rudnai proved himself to be a defender of Slovak culture and church life, in particular, he advocated that only ethnic Slovaks be appointed priests in Slovak parishes. He supported both his authority and financially Slovak cultural events. He owns the phrase "I am a Slovak, and if I became the Pope, I would remain a Slovak" ^[1] .

• Alexander (Sandor) Cardinal Rudnay Divékújfalusi
• Cardinal Rudnai at gcatholic.org
• Cardinal Rudnai at The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Biographical Dictionary
• Alexander Rudnay (words.)