HIS-Press-Service, 1978 (3. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)
1978-02-01 / 10. szám
HIS Press Service No.10. February 1978 Page 3 Hungarian Emigrants and Refugees The first great wave of emigration from Hungary began at the end of the 19th century and lasted until World War I. North America was the goal of most of the emigrants. On the basis of the peace treaty of 1919/20, Hungary's territory was reduced in such a way that a large part of the Hungarian-speaking population was incorporated into the so-called succession states. Today, 1.7 million Hungarians live in Rumania, 730,000 in Czechoslovakia, and 580,000 in Yugoslavia. After World War II, part of Hungary's territory, with a population of 170,000 Hungarians, was annexed by the Soviet Union. In the period before and after the Second World War, and after 1956, thousands of Hungarians left their homeland and spread out over North and South America, Australia, and a number of Western European countries. The number of Hungarians living in Western countries at present is over 2 million (the population of Hungary is 10.5 million), ca. 70% of which are Catholics. At present, about 800 Catholic Hungarian priests and ca. 1,700 Hungarian women who are members of religious orders are living in other countries. Within the sphere of local Church organization, the Hungarian immigrants in North America founded Hungarian-speaking parishes which have flourished wonderfully. There are at present 69 such Roman and Greek Catholic parishes in the United States and 18 in Canada. Many Hungarian Church parishes in South America have also demonstrated an exceptional amount of activity. The Church authorities in Australia, unfortunately, look less favorably upon the efforts to found Hungarian parishes. Hungarian Pastoral Activity in Europe Scattered among the countries of Western Europe are ca. 150,000 Hungarian Catholics who are cared for by the Hungarian pastoral service. This is approximately the number of faithful which makes up a diocese. At present, Hungarian pastoral activity is carried out in the following places: Belgium: ca.10,000 faithful; pastoral centers in Brussels, Louvain, Liège. West Germany: ca. 24,000 faithful; pastoral centers in Aachen, Augsburg, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Mannheim, Munich, Stuttgart, Utz. England: ca. 15,000 faithful; pastoral center in London. France: ca. 30,000 faithful; pastoral centers in Lille, Lyons, Metz, Paris, Strasbourg. Italy: ca. 1,000 faithful; pastoral center in Rome. Netherlands: ca. 5,500 faithful; pastoral center in Hertogenbosch. Austria: ca. 43,000 faithful; pastoral centers in Bregenz, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Kufstein, Linz, Salzburg, Spittal/Drau, Vienna. Switzerland: ca. 10,000 faithful; pastoral centers in Basel, Bern, Fribourg,
