Benedict Kisdy

Benedict Kisdy (Hungarian: Benedek Kisdy, Slovak: Benedikt Kišdy) (c. 1598 – 22 June 1660) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic bishop in the 17th century. He was the founder of the Royal University (Universitas Cassoviensis) in present-day Košice and the Bishop of Eger.^[1]

Portrait of Benedict Kisdy

Biography

From 1596 to 1700, Kassa, Kingdom of Hungary (today: Košice, Slovakia) was the seat of the bishops of Eger. It was during this time, from 1648 until 1660, that Benedict was bishop.^[1]

On 26 February 1657, he founded an academy in Košice, the first of its kind in the city. He went on to present it with 40,000 tallers. He placed it under the teaching administration of the Jesuits. The academy became a university with promulgation of a bull on 6 August 1660 by the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.^[2] In 1777, the university was removed from Jesuit administration and became a Royal University.^[3]

He is buried in the Franciscan seminary church in Košice.^[4]

Legacy

On 6 April 1979, Pope John Paul II made an address to a group of Hungarian bishops, priests and congregation members. At the start of the speech he mentioned the work of the Hungarian College and the alumni of that college, stating, "I do not want to pass over in silence the figure of Benedict Kisdy, whose admirable hymns still ring out in your churches."^[5]

Gallery

• 
  His coat of arms, based on the relief on the altar in the Franciscan church in Košice
• 
  Bull by Leopold I on the status of the University of Košice
• 
  Portrait

See also

• Košice
• Church of the Holy Trinity, Košice