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Short History of the Province

 * The Hungarian Salesian Province, named after Saint Stephan, is the smallest Salesian province, although the Salesian Order is the third largest order in the world.

The Salesians are present in Hungary from the year of 1913. The first Salesian priest in Hungary was Zafféry Károly. By the middle of the XX. Century, they became present in and in also some places which are of lesser significance.
 * Balassagyarmat
 * Borsodnádasd
 * Budapest
 * Gyula
 * Esztergomtábor
 * Nyergesújfalu
 * Péliföldszentkereszt
 * Pestszentlőrinc
 * Szombathely
 * Újpest

According to Salesian school entries, in the year 1950, there were 280 Salesian monks in Hungary working in 15 places.

However, the socialist dictatorship prohibited every religious order in Hungary, and therefore the Salesians also had to abandon their work. Although they were officially dismissed, many of the former monks continued to live their sacred life. By the end of the communist regime, only 83 Salesians remained to begin working once again in the spirit of Don Bosco: to serve the poor and neglected youth.

Óbuda - Provincial House and Salesianum Dormitory
Foundation:2001

The Salesians bought the site Bécsi út 173 - which is now the home for the present Provincial House, in 1999. Its foundation stone was layed down on the 24th of may in the year 2001; the building was finally completed and blessed on the first of January, 2002.

Its functions are currently: Provincial centre, home for Salesian postulants-, novitiates (1999), post-novitiates; furthermore, to the Provincial House does also belong a church, the Segítő Szűz Mária church, which is located next to the main building.

The Salesianum Dormitory is the part of the main building facing the Bécsi Street. It was originally designed for novitiates, but later became a dormitory for male, Catholic university students.

Adress:''Szent Alajos Szalézi Rendház 1032 Budapest, Bécsi út 175.''

Head of the house:P. Van Hecke Albert SDB

Szent Alajos Abbey
Foundation:1920

At the time of the foundation of the abbey, Óbuda - the third district, was one of the poorest districts of the capital city. During the Second World War, many Jews and Polish Salesian priests found shelter in this house. After 1992, when the Salesian regained the most of their former possessions, a general rebuilding and renovating processes started.

On the Bécsi út 175 site (approximately 1000 metres2 large) a new abbey was built in which 13 rooms-, a dining hall, a library and an auditorium found place.

Péliföldszentkereszt
Foundation:1913

Péliföldszentkereszt (or simply "Szentkereszt") is a widely known place for pilgrimages from the XVIII. Century. The temple's relic is said to contain two little fragments of the cross of Christ (as also its name indicates: "Szent" means holy and "kereszt" means cross). The relic was recently put in a new reliquiary.

From the november of 1913, the church and the monastery of Péliföldszentkereszt was given to the Salesians, as it was abandoned since 1906. The Salesians were also entrusted in 1915 with running the secondary school of the nearby village of Nyergesújfalu.

In 1950, both buildings were nationalized. The pilgrim house became a prison and the monastery itself was made into a hunter's house of the communist Trade Union's.

In 1992, the order got the monastery back with its additional buildings. The school was only returned in 2001.

Adress:''Szalézi Rendház 2533 Bajót Péliföldszentkereszt''

Head of the house:P. Ábrahám Béla SDB

Szombathely
Foundation:1929

Szombathely was the home for the Salesian novitiates from 1991 until 1999, when the Provincian House took over this function. The Salesian House of Szombathely consists of the Szent Kvirin church, a monastery, the former novitiate house the oratory building and a dormitory.

Adress:''Szalézi Rendház 9700 Szombathely, Táncsics Mihály u.44.''

Head of the house:P. Andrásfalvy János SDB

Balassagyarmat
Foundation:1934

The Salesian house of Balassagyarmat was reorganized(?) from a former barrack of the gendarmerie. After the First World War, in 1924, the barrack became an orphanage. In 1934, the Salesians became entrusted with the building which they renovated and kept running until the end of the Second World War. In 1992, the house was given back to the Salesians and they are still actively present there. The newly renovated Oratory was opened on the 20th of January, 2007.

Adress:''Bosco Szent János Rendház 2660 Balassagyarmat, Kossuth Lajos u. 41.''

Head of the house:P. Hartai Gábor SDB

Kazincbarcika
Foundation:2006

As Kazincbarcika was only recently founded in a place, where there were no Salesian presence before. The Kazincbarcika house is an important step in Hungarian missionary work. The vocational school which the Salesians run in Kazincbarcika is mainly concerned in the education of very poor students, who usually belong to a minority. There are three Salesians working in Kazincbarcika: P Manjooran Simon SDB, a Salesian born in India; Nádudvari Géza SDB, who has been on mission in Ghana and Quadros Lytton, a Salesian apprentice as well from India.

Adress:''3700 Kazincbarcika, Május 1. út 11.''

Head of the House:P. Manjooran Simon SDB

Don Bosco Press
The Don Bosco Press is the property of the Salesian Congregation.

The press is the successor of the "Szalézi Művek" (Salesian Works, if translated) which was closed after 1950. The press restarted its work in 1991, publishing works chiefly on Salesian mission and education.

Adress:''Don Bosco Kiadó Bt. Könyvesbolt'' 1053 Budapest, Múzeum körút 7.