Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad

Sommer Bernát

Sommer Bernát
Deceased
Birth data:
ismeretlen
Death data:
ismeretlen
Denomination:
Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical status:
diocesan
Diocese / Order:
Szepes
Ordination level:
priest
Priestly ordination:
ismeretlen
Place of burial:
ismeretlen
Biographical data
Bernát Sommer (dates of birth and death unknown) was a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Szepes and a Hungarian pastor serving in the United States.

He completed his studies in Igló, where he is listed in school records as a Roman Catholic student at the Lutheran high school. Little is known about the early years of his priestly ministry. Around 1899, he served as an assistant pastor; if the information pertains to the Diocese of Szepes, his place of service was presumably Szepeshely (Szepeskáptalan), the seat of the bishopric and the cathedral chapter. In 1896—when civil marriage was introduced—he married couples without them having first entered into a civil marriage, for which he was fined 400 koronas or, in the event of failure to pay, sentenced to 20 days’ imprisonment.

In 1905, he served at the parish in Lucski (now Lúčky, Slovakia) in Liptó County. According to local parish records, he took over the parish on July 24, 1905, but his tenure lasted only a few months; he was succeeded by another priest that same year.

In 1906, he moved to the United States. In Dayton, Ohio, he became the first pastor of the Hungarian Roman Catholic Parish of St. Stephen, which had been established at that time. The historical directory of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati lists him as the head of the parish from 1906 to 1908. His task was to organize the new Hungarian parish and provide its initial pastoral care. He was succeeded by Adam Blucz in 1908.

According to a later account in American local history, he was also in contact with the Hungarian Catholic community in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in 1913, and his efforts to organize the St. Peter and Paul Charitable Society are linked to the guidance of Father Bernard Sommer.

Around 1927, he returned and settled in Hollólomnic, which at that time was part of Czechoslovakia. The date of his death is unknown.
Domestic service locations
From To Place i Current name, country i Church / institution Position
1889 before Árvanagyfalu, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Veličná, Slovakia assistant pastor
1899 circa Szepeshely, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Spišská Kapitula, Slovakia assistant pastor
1899 1905 before Lucski, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Lúčky, Slovakia parish priest
1927 after Hollólomnic, Csehszlovákia Holumnice, Slovakia
Foreign service locations
From To Place Current name, country Church / institution Position
1906 1908 Dayton, OH, USA Szent István templom founding pastor
1913 1921 Northampton, PA, USA Our Lady of Hungary Church pastor
Life timeline
Service in the homeland
Árvanagyfalu, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Veličná, Slovakia
assistant pastor
Service in the homeland
Szepeshely, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Spišská Kapitula, Slovakia
assistant pastor
Service in the homeland
18991905
Lucski, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, currently Lúčky, Slovakia
parish priest
Service abroad
19061908
Dayton, OH, USA
Szent István templom
founding pastor
Service abroad
19131921
Northampton, PA, USA
Our Lady of Hungary Church
pastor
Service in the homeland
Hollólomnic, Csehszlovákia, currently Holumnice, Slovakia
Sources
  • MKL: Dayton;
  • Török: 136p.
  • Evangélikus főgymnasium, Igló, 1879, 24p.
  • Alkotmány, 1899-09-19 / 225. szám, pp.2.
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Citation for this entry
Sommer Bernát: personal record. In: Historical directory of Hungarian, Hungarian-descended, and Hungarian-speaking clergy serving abroad. Available at: https://www.diaszporalelkipasztorok.hu/persons_v2/view.php?id=1008 (accessed: 2026-09-22).
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