Mártír Hercegprímás Urunk, szeretett hazánktól száműzve, külföldi magyarjai látogatása során érkezett hozzánk, a passaici Szt. István Magyar Egyház híveihez 1974. május 19-én, vasárnap. Ft. dr. Dunay Antal volt akkor a lelkipásztorunk, aki az üldöztetések idején Prímas Urunk határozott utasítására hagyta el az országot. Philadelphiáig elébe utazva kísérte őt hozzánk. Egyházunk egyik legnagyobb ünnepe volt ez a nap. Templomunk zsúfolásig megtelt híveinkkel és autóbuszokon érkező vendégekkel. Soha ekkora lelkes hívősereget (kb. 700 személy) még nem látott templomunk. A főúton kordonnal lezárt úton, állami rendőrkocsi vezette szirénázva Passaicig, majd a helybeli rendőrség díszkísérete irányította autóját templomunkig. Szeretett és sokat szenvedett Főpasztorunk diadalútja volt ez a lakosság, iskolánk gyermekei és az egyenruhás magyar cserkészeink sorfala között. Meghatódva üdvözöltük a templomunkba érkező, térdreboruló Főpásztort. A látogatás eseményeinek sorozata: főpásztori ünnepélyes nagymise, majd a szomszéd utcai magyar Református Egyház gyülekezetének meglátogatása és üdvözlő beszéde templomukban. Délután meglátogatta és megáldotta Ft. Gáspár sírhelyét (aki Zalaegerszegen káplánja volt), utána cserkészeinket szemlélte meg a garfieldi cserkészházukban. Végül a nap nyilvános ünnepi fogadással zárult dísztermünkben, ahol a különféle egyesületek vezetői és delegációi üdvözölhették a Prímás Urat. Beszédei vezérgondolatában mindenütt hangsúlyozta:

„Ne hagyjátok a templomot és az iskolát!!!”

Az alábbiakban Mindszenty bíboros, hercegprímás szentmiséjét, illetve külön a  prédikációját, illetve a fogadáson elhangzott beszédeket közöljük. Emellett egy videó felvételt is meg lehet tekinteni, melynek hangsávja, a kor technikája miatt nem készült, illetve maradt fenn.

Mindszenty bíboros köszöntése és szentmiséje:
 
Prédikáció:
 
A szentmise utáni fogadás:
 

Az esemény filmfelvétele:

Throng Greets Cardinal Mindszenty

PASSAIC – Faith, family and national pride were the dominant themes of Cardinal József Mindszenty, former primate of Hungary, as hundreds of well-wishers greeted him during a visit here Sunday.
The 82-year-old cardinal, an outspoken foe of Communism, was optimistic too that the people of Hungary will be freed from its domination.“Nothing lasts long in this land”, the cardinal said in an interview in the rectory of St. Stephen's Magyar Church. “Even good systems will be worn out”, he added.
Cardinal Mindszenty said, however, that there can be no change until the country's leaders experience “personal con-version”, and the people “gain more sober maturity”.He repeated the message he has given to Hungarian people: “Stand firm in the faith and in the Church” and culti-vate “natural” nationalism. Earlier, Cardinal Mindszenty, speaking in a firm voice, delivered a half-hour homily in St. Stephen's Church, where he was the chief concelebrant of a mass in the Hungarian language. He spoke without text and used eyeglasses only
occasionally during the celebration of the mass. In his homily, he spoke but briefly of Communism, when he noted that “certain leaders have given up their faith and are collaborating with the enemy”.
He traced the history of Hungary from the time of St. Stephen, who reigned as king nearly 1,000 years ago, and urged the Hungarian people to be proud of their heritage, their Church, their country and the family.
The cardinal put strong emphasis on the value of family life, with children showing respect and love for their parents.
Attended by his private secretary Msgr. Tibor Meszaros, and an altar boy, Cardinal Mindszenty alone distributed communion to the majority of more than 600 people who filled the church and filled up the center aisle to the altar steps.
Concelebrating – were Msgr. Meszaros, Father Anthony S. Dunay, pastor of St. Stephen's; Father Joseph Cassidy, associate pastor of St. Christopher, Parsippany; Father Paul Kurcz, associate at Holy Trinity, Passaic; Father Roger Hebert, pastor of St. George, Paterson; Father John J. Demkovich, pastor of St. Mary, Passaic, and Father Frank Harangozo, an aide to the cardinal. Father John J. Cusack, associate at St. Stephen's, and Father Ladislaus Flek, pastor of St. Joseph, Passaic, were chaplains to Bishop Casey.
Bishop Casey was in the sanctuary but did not concelebrate because of the language difference. At the close of the liturgy, the bishop stepped to the pulpit and delivered his official greetings to the cardinal in English.
“The Diocese of Paterson and the Byzantine Eparchy of Passaic are honored to have you here at St. Stephen's,” Bishop Casey said. “You are a symbol of spiritual strength to people of all faiths throughout the world. Your heroic struggle against the Nazis and the Communists, the personal leadership you gave to your beloved flock in Hungary in the darkest hours of their oppression are known to lovers of freedom everywhere. They sense your courage and the strong spirituality which sustained you against torture and loneliness during the long years of your imprisonment. You are a beacon of hope in a confused world,” the bishop said.
“When you came to the United States two weeks ago”, Bishop Casey continued, “you stated, ‘Wherever I go, I stand for God, for my Church, for my country, and for my independence.’ You, better than the rest of us, know that God alone is the source of our strength. We salute you and pray that the Lord will give you continued good health to spread his word.”
Immediately after the mass, Cardinal Mindszenty visited the Hungarian Reformed Church on Fourth Street, a block away, where he was greeted by Stephen György, president of the Board of Elders, and about 300 members of that congregation. Again, he spoke briefly in Hungarian.
Returning to St. Stephen's rectory for luncheon, Cardinal Mindszenty renewed his acquaintance with Father Dunay, who had served in his Archdiocese of Esztergom in Hungary before he left for the U.S. – at the cardinal's direction – in 1948, to escape arrest by Communist authorities.
After luncheon, Cardinal Mindszenty went to Calvary Cemetery, Paterson, to visit the grave of Father John Gáspár, Father Dunay's predecessor, who had been the cardinal's assistant in Hungary before he came to this country. Father Dunay succeeded to the pastorate here upon Father Gáspár's death in 1963.
Later he visited the Hungarian scout headquarters in Garfield, before returning to a reception in St. Stephen's school hall. There he told some 400 persons that they “must remain united against the forces of oppression.”
The reception he received here, he said, made him understand his “suffering had been worthwhile.” He said, “If I was a poet, I couldn't put into words what I feel after all the praise I received today. But you must translate your words and applause into action to bring about the freedom we are talking about.”
Mayor Gerald Goldman, who presented the cardinal with a key to the city, headed a list of speakers who included State Sen. Joseph Hirkala and Bishop Michael Dudick of the Byzantine Eparchy of Passaic.
The occasion afforded a tearful reunion for Lorand Derka of Garfield, who had spent 10 years in a Communist prison. He and the cardinal had been imprisoned together in Budapest in 1953.
“We need your visit”, he told Cardinal Mindszenty, “because without any support our churches and schools will be empty. You are helping us in our difficult task to have our youth continue our traditions.”
The cardinal had urged the Hungarian community to keep its parochial schools and to continue speaking Hungarian.
Cardinal Mindszenty had also visited with other Hungarian-speaking clergy of the area during the afternoon and discussed with them the problems of national parishes.
Father Dunay praised the cardinal as a unifying force in the Hungarian community. “We are losing our young people”, he said. “They are moving away.” He added, “I hope the cardinal's visit awakens their sense of national pride.”
That pride was amply demonstrated in the colorful decorations in the school hall and in the traditional costumes worn by many of the people – the women in long dresses with lace and the men in black Hungarian-style tuxedoes, many bedecked with medals.
Children in Hungarian scout uniforms lined the sidewalk at the entrance to the church when Cardinal Mindszenty arrived about 45 minutes before the 11 o'clock mass. He was applauded loudly after he spoke briefly to the gathering outside, and then went to the rectory to vest for the mass.
A committee of parishioners had escorted Cardinal Mindszenty to Passaic from Philadelphia, where he had been the guest of Cardinal John Krol. After spending Sunday night at the Marriott Motor Hotel in Saddle Brook, the cardinal left for Washington Monday morning.
His Passaic visit was in response to an invitation from Father Dunay when he visited him in Rome a few years ago. The stop was one of many he is making during an eight-week cross-country tour of Hungarian communities in the U.S. before he returns to Vienna on June 29.
He is also here to talk with the publishers of his memoirs, entitled “Mindszenty: An Autobiography”, scheduled to be published in November. He told a news conference upon his arrival in New York May 6 that the publication may cause him and the Church to be attacked. He said he had “gotten used to attacks and one more or less doesn't really matter.”
Cardinal Mindszenty was removed as primate of Hungary in February when Pope Paul VI declared his see vacant. The Pope said the action was taken so he could appoint a successor who could be present in Hungary.
Cardinal Mindszenty left Hungary in 1971 after spending 15 years in the U.S. embassy in Budapest, where he took refuge during the 1956 Hungarian uprising. He had been serving a life sentence imposed by the Communist government in 1949.
He had previously been imprisoned some three months by the new Communist regime there in 1919 and again during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Asked in various interviews if he considered returning to Hungary, he said that “under present circumstances it is not easy to think about this; it would mean accepting everything that has happened.”
Living in Vienna at the time his see was declared vacant, Cardinal Mindszenty denied reports he had resigned voluntarily. “I performed my duties to the fullest”, he said. “I am not the cause of the vacancy.”
 

by Vic Winkler
The Beacon, May 23, 1974. pp. 1, 9
 

A fenti szöveget Károly László írta. Forrás: St. Stephen's R.C. Magyar Church, Passaic, New Jersey, 1903 — 2003 emlékkönyv

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