America’s First Hungarian Parish

Today marks the death of Monsignor Charles Boehm (1853-1932) who founded America’s first Hungarian parish. Born in Hungary, he studied for the priesthood in Vienna and worled in Hungary until 1892, when he was invited to start a parish for Cleveland’s growing Hungarian community. Between 1880 and 1915 about half a million Hungarians emigrated to the United States. The parish was named for St. Elizabeth of Hungary. This was the first Hungarian parish in America. In addition to St. Elizabeth, Father Boehm was instrumental in the founding of several other Hungarian parishes throughout the country. He began a newspaper for Hungaian Catholics that is still in operation today, The Catholic Hungarian Sunday. In 1907, he moved from Cleveland to Buffalo, which he used as a base for starting Hungarian parishes in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. In 1923 he returned to Cleveland, where he became pastor once again of St. Elizabeth parish. In 1925 he was named a Monsignor. He died in Cleveland in 1932.