At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to the work of Vilmos Fraknói and József Lukcsics, the monumental volumes of Monumenta Romana Episcopatus Vesprimiensis were published, marking the starting point for the scholarly research and study of diocesan history. In addition to Vatican research, the exploration and presentation of the history of Hungarian dioceses is an integral part of the Fraknói Research Group’s profile. Thus, the publication of the volume on the history of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa represents a continuation of Fraknói’s legacy and forms an important chapter in the Fraknói Memorial Year.
The second professional series of the Research Group, launched in 2015 under the title Collectanea Studiorum et Textuum, has so far published monographs and source editions related to the history of the Archdiocese of Esztergom and the Diocese of Szombathely in its first class. Class III contains studies related to Eger and has published the material of 11 dioceses as part of the Hungarian continuation of the Bischofslexikon 1804–1918 project.
In early August 2023, the presenters at the IX. Fraknói Summer Academy presented the latest results of their research on the history of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa to an audience in the archiepiscopal city. As a result of the academy, a volume edited by Viktor Kanász and György Sági has now been published, featuring nine studies. Following the foreword by research group leader Péter Tusor, the writings are organized into four chapters. In the chapter titled "Path to the Archiepiscopal See," we find the works of András Forgó (Parallels in the Careers of Imre Csáky, Archbishop of Kalocsa, and Imre Esterházy, Archbishop of Esztergom), Mons. Tamás Tóth (Miklós Csáky, Archbishop of Kalocsa-Bács, and His Vatican Prosopographical Sources), and György Sági (The Appointments of Gyula Glattfelder and József Grősz to the Kalocsa-Bács Archiepiscopal See [1942/1943]). The chapter "Conflict and Persecution" features contributions by Tamás Fedeles (The Prince and the Archbishop: A Conflict in the Kalocsa-Bács Diocese at the Dusk of the Middle Ages) and Andor Lakatos (Clerical Careers in the Light of the Grősz Trial 'Revelations': The Trial of Károly Gombos and His Associates). In the third chapter, titled "In Their Own Words," Béla Vilmos Mihalik (The Jesuits of Kalocsa During the Hungarian Soviet Republic, Based on the Autobiography of Elemér Csávossy) and Norbert Csibi (The Lenten Sermons of Archbishop Gyula Zichy in the 1920s and 1930s) present their work. The final chapter, "Archiepiscopal Collections," introduces Fanni Hende (Codex? Fragment? The Breviary Ms. 19 of the Library of the Kalocsa Metropolitan Cathedral) and Adél Lakatos (The Forgotten Art Collection of Archbishop György Császka of Kalocsa-Bács).
The 2023 event and the publication of the volume were supported by PPKE BTK, with special thanks to Professor Nándor Birher.
The e-book version of the volume is available for download here.
Eger was the first city to host a Fraknói (Summer) Academy where the entire conference focused on diocesan history. Following the presentations in 2019, three studies presenting fundamental research findings were published. The first Fraknói Academy to have its own independent study volume was the 2022 Piliscsaba event, dedicated to Hungarian–Holy See relations.
This current volume on diocesan history will hopefully serve as a useful starting point for the future monograph of the Kalocsa-Bács Archdiocese and temporarily mitigate its absence. Alongside Vatican research and diocesan history, the X. Fraknói Academy placed historiography at the center as the third fundamental theme: the Fraknói Centennial (1924–2024) Nagyvárad Memorial Conference, and a new volume of studies emerging from its presentations… (CVH I/24).