175 years of the St. Stephen Association – conference

The national library and the St. Stephen Association organised an academic conference to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Association. The St. Stephen Association, founded in 1848, is a unique organisation: a religious association serving the cause of Catholic public education and Hungary's oldest continuously operating publishing house.

Throughout its long and eventful history, it has sought to satisfy the needs of both intellectuals and the general public, and its product range has always been extremely varied: academic publications, specialised journals, representative albums, textbooks, family magazines, educational works, entertaining publications, novels, poetry, youth and children's literature.

The Association did a great deal of work in the organisation of Catholic society, and its achievements in the field of publishing were recognised a hundred years ago, in 1923, when Pope Pius XI awarded it the title of Publisher of the Holy See.

The joint conference of the Association and the NSZL aimed to provide a glimpse into exciting episodes in the Association's 175-year history.

The participants were welcomed by Dr. Lajos Varga, Deputy Bishop of Vác, Director of the National Catholic Collection Centre. In his speech, he recalled the brief history and foundation of the organisation and spoke about the wide range of the Association's publications.

As host, Dávid Rózsa, Director General, welcomed the guests and reminded them of the lasting power of faith and culture. He stressed that the Association is a "spiritual and religious community of which we can all be proud". Its members "pay equal attention to professionalism and spirituality, because a healthy society depends on the spiritual and mental well-being of its citizens".In his speech, Gábor Sarbak, President of the St. Stephen Association and head of the Fragmenta et Codices Research Group of the ELKH-NSZL, emphasized that the Association is open to research on its publications and hopes that the results of the research will serve both the Hungarian Catholic Church and many segments of Hungarian academic and cultural life.

The conference was also attended by Prof. Dr. Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi DSc, President of the National Library Board of Trustees, Rector Emeritus of Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Premonstratensian Canon and Olivér Farkas, Director of the Association.

More pictures from the event