The archdiocese's archbishop retains the title of "
Primate", which gives this see precedence over all other Latin Hungarian dioceses, including the fellow Metropolitan Archbishops of
Eger,
Kalocsa–Kecskemét and
Veszprém, but the incumbent may be individually (and temporarily) outranked if one of them holds a (higher)
cardinalate. Its current
Archbishop is
Péter Erdő.
Duality and special churches
Its double name reflects that it has (co-)cathedral sees in two major Hungarian cities, the old primatial archiepiscopal seat Esztergom and the present national capital Budapest. These two prominent cities fall under the tutelage of one
archdiocese due to
Hungary's early history wherein
Esztergom was one of the former
capitals of the
Kingdom of Hungary (much larger than the present republic – roughly the eastern half of the
Habsburg monarchy).
The archiepiscopal
Cathedral and primatial see is Nagyboldogasszony és Szent Adalbert főszékesegyház, in
Esztergom-Vár.
The archdiocese has a second minor basilica, Kisboldogasszony-templom, Máriaremete, at
Székesfehérvár, in
Fejér county.
Statistics
As of 2016, it pastorally served 1,249,000 Catholics (60.1% of 2,078,000 population) covering 1,543 km2 in 188 parishes and 28 missions with (in 2014) 435 priests (254 diocesan, 181 religious), 23 deacons, 725 lay religious (266 brothers, 459
sisters) and 38 seminarians.
Ecclesiastical province
The Metropolitan's
suffragan sees are the Latin bishops of:
It was founded in 1001 by
Stephen I of Hungary, as the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Esztergom, on Hungarian territories split off from the dioceses of
Nitra,
Passau and
Regensburg (the latter two with sees in
Bavaria, southern Germany). It had a uniquely prominent status, giving the archbishop the title of
prince primate, and the privilege of crowning the kings of Hungary.[1]
The
Cathedral of Saint Adalbert was consecrated in 1010.[1] The archdiocese lost territory in 1227 to establish the
Diocese of Milcovia, but in 1542 gained territory back from the suppressed Diocese of Milcovia.
The archbishop and chaplaincy relocated to
Nagyszombat in 1543 before Esztergom fell to the
Ottoman Empire.
Saint Nicolas Church served as the cathedral. Ottoman occupation of the archdiocese made pastoral care difficult and Protestant teachings spread. Archbishop
Miklós Oláh re-established the Esztergom cathedral school at Nagyszombat, and in 1561 invited the
Jesuits to administer it.[1]
In 1619, Primate
Péter Pázmány founded the
Pázmáneum in Vienna as a seminary to train Hungarian candidates for the priesthood.[2] in 1776, the archdiocese was split to establish the suffragan sees of
Banská Bystrica,
Rožňava and
Spiš. In 1820, the episcopal see returned to Esztergom. Work began to restore the cathedral in 1822. The upper church was consecrated in 1856 and saw the premier of
Franz Liszt's Missa solennis.
In June 1912, the archdiocese lost territory with the establishment of the
Eparchy of Hajdúdorog (as its suffragan; now a Byzantine rite Metropolitan Archeparchy) and in May 1922 to establish the
Apostolic Administration of Trnava. In 1938 the 34th
International Eucharistic Congress was held in Budapest. In 1948 Cardinal
József Mindszenty was arrested and imprisoned by the government. Freed during the short-lived
Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Mindszenty was granted political asylum at the United States embassy in Budapest when the Russians invaded.
Péter Erdõ (7 December 2002 – ...), created
Cardinal-Priest of
S. Maria Nuova (2003.10.21 [2004.03.09] – ...), also President of Hungarian Episcopal Conference (2005.09 – 2015.09.02), President of Council of European Bishops' Conferences (2006.10.08 – 2016.10.08); previously Titular Bishop of
Puppi (1999.11.05 – 2002.12.07) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Székesfehérvár (Hungary) (1999.11.05 – 2002.12.07)