Sándor Soós: Fodor József Búcsúvezető Zarándokkönyve (1957-1974)
(The Pilgrimage-book of József Fodor: Procession-leader /1957–1974/)
164 pp., with colour illustrations
in Hungarian, with English summary
Sándor Bálint says that the leader of a dedication festival is an outstanding personality who unifies more than one function in himself and so he becomes the head of a community. Leaders of pilgrimages usually know the ancient health practices, show an inclination towards solitude, act as licentiates and follow a peculiar poetic tradition.
The function of litentiates (semi-priests) that had preserved Catholicism is well known from the time of the Turkish occupation and the Protestant Reformation which appear together on the scene at about the same period in the 16th century.
The Franciscan Order together with the Jesuits who came somewhat later tried to provide for the necessary tasks of the Church on the occupied territories. As the friars couldn’t meet the congregations, laymen had to baptize people, teach religion, do the preoration at church, they announced feasts and fastings and read the Gospel and the lessons in front of the community. Referring to the period of Archbishop Pál Várday 1526–1549) Péter Pázmány wrote that’…in many villages young laymen read the sermon on highdays, they christen the babies and bury the dead’. As their role was formulated at the Council in Pozsony in 1528: ’Licenciates are laymen, unmarried, living a respected life in the world with no ordination, are well educated and got the permission of their bishop to teach the community the bases of religion, to baptize, bury and marry people.’ Sometimes they are referred to as ’clerics’ , ’deák’ (literate men), the Turks call them semi-priests, Pázmány uses the word ’katekéta’. Their importance is shown by the fact, that besides 102 priests 29 licenciates took part on the 1629 Council in Nagyszombat. The decision of the Council mentions unmarried men, but according to data coming from other parts of the they country they were mostly married.
When in the 18th century there were already enough priests in the country laymen went on with their role as leaders of pilgrimages or preorators and precantors in churches. Their followers, the heads of processions of recent times were preservers and enthusiastic apostles of this tradition as well. The religious culture of licentiates, the leaders of processions in later time, has mostly had Franciscan roots. That’s why Franciscan friars have always been greatly respected, and several leaders of pilgrimages go mostly to shrines that are attended to by Franciscans. The in-depth study of the pilgrim-routes of József Fodor supports this theory.
Procession leaders, the so called ’holy persons’ had an essential part in preserving and handing down religious folk-poetry as well as in creating and spreading it in written form. The adoration form of preorators and precantors who used texts and songs alternately with reading aloud parts of legends helped the participants into a festively spritual mood. The communities and leaders have each had their song and prayer collection with an own and typical liturgical order. At the shrines the leaders of the different processions have tried to compete with each other by giving their own liturgical ’performance’. They led their communities with strong self-consciousness and the importance of the pilgrimage gave them the sense of fulfilling a mission. If they made a good impression beside having a good voice too, the pilgrims probably had a leading personality as the head of their procession. József Fodor was considered to be a procession leader like this, even his ’rivals’ respected his leadind position among themselves. The direction of events apart from the liturgy was given over to him whenever he was present. Pilgrims from former processions had already known him and waited for his ’marching in.’
We don’t know much about his life. He was born in Veresegyháza in 1921. His father’s name isn’t known either. He had learnt to lead processions from his mother who died in 1936. He had led pilgrimages to different shrines since 1940. In my essay I studied the autograph and documented description of his pilgrimages between 1957-1974. Fodor had asked the parish priest, the guardian or the bishop present to write some sencentes into his book and had it stamped at the shrine each time. He was ill for longer periods. We don’t know much about the pilgrimages he had after 1974. In 1950 he got married, but his marriage went wrong soon. He had rather bad connections to his only son who died at the age of 29. József Fodor died alone in hospital in 1984. Summarizing the above, it can be said that József Fodor had had a remarkably rich life. Even without knowing much about the period between 1940-1956 we must consider that he had led 153 groups of pilgrims during 18 years between 1957-1974, among them 12 groups were led abroad. During the ten years between 1962-1971 when he took 120 groups on pilgrimages, 45 shrines were visited in Hungary and 16 ones abroad. Looking at the routes of his pilgrimages on the map his favourite shrines can easily be seen. There are places he often returned to, - but he was always keen on going to new places as well.
József Fodor’s procession leading spirituality and the form of reverence preferred by him can be described by studying the patronal festivals and the special features of the shrines he visited.
Sándor Soós
etnographer - museologist
(The Pilgrimage-book of József Fodor: Procession-leader /1957–1974/)
164 pp., with colour illustrations
in Hungarian, with English summary
Sándor Bálint says that the leader of a dedication festival is an outstanding personality who unifies more than one function in himself and so he becomes the head of a community. Leaders of pilgrimages usually know the ancient health practices, show an inclination towards solitude, act as licentiates and follow a peculiar poetic tradition.
The function of litentiates (semi-priests) that had preserved Catholicism is well known from the time of the Turkish occupation and the Protestant Reformation which appear together on the scene at about the same period in the 16th century.
The Franciscan Order together with the Jesuits who came somewhat later tried to provide for the necessary tasks of the Church on the occupied territories. As the friars couldn’t meet the congregations, laymen had to baptize people, teach religion, do the preoration at church, they announced feasts and fastings and read the Gospel and the lessons in front of the community. Referring to the period of Archbishop Pál Várday 1526–1549) Péter Pázmány wrote that’…in many villages young laymen read the sermon on highdays, they christen the babies and bury the dead’. As their role was formulated at the Council in Pozsony in 1528: ’Licenciates are laymen, unmarried, living a respected life in the world with no ordination, are well educated and got the permission of their bishop to teach the community the bases of religion, to baptize, bury and marry people.’ Sometimes they are referred to as ’clerics’ , ’deák’ (literate men), the Turks call them semi-priests, Pázmány uses the word ’katekéta’. Their importance is shown by the fact, that besides 102 priests 29 licenciates took part on the 1629 Council in Nagyszombat. The decision of the Council mentions unmarried men, but according to data coming from other parts of the they country they were mostly married.
When in the 18th century there were already enough priests in the country laymen went on with their role as leaders of pilgrimages or preorators and precantors in churches. Their followers, the heads of processions of recent times were preservers and enthusiastic apostles of this tradition as well. The religious culture of licentiates, the leaders of processions in later time, has mostly had Franciscan roots. That’s why Franciscan friars have always been greatly respected, and several leaders of pilgrimages go mostly to shrines that are attended to by Franciscans. The in-depth study of the pilgrim-routes of József Fodor supports this theory.
Procession leaders, the so called ’holy persons’ had an essential part in preserving and handing down religious folk-poetry as well as in creating and spreading it in written form. The adoration form of preorators and precantors who used texts and songs alternately with reading aloud parts of legends helped the participants into a festively spritual mood. The communities and leaders have each had their song and prayer collection with an own and typical liturgical order. At the shrines the leaders of the different processions have tried to compete with each other by giving their own liturgical ’performance’. They led their communities with strong self-consciousness and the importance of the pilgrimage gave them the sense of fulfilling a mission. If they made a good impression beside having a good voice too, the pilgrims probably had a leading personality as the head of their procession. József Fodor was considered to be a procession leader like this, even his ’rivals’ respected his leadind position among themselves. The direction of events apart from the liturgy was given over to him whenever he was present. Pilgrims from former processions had already known him and waited for his ’marching in.’
We don’t know much about his life. He was born in Veresegyháza in 1921. His father’s name isn’t known either. He had learnt to lead processions from his mother who died in 1936. He had led pilgrimages to different shrines since 1940. In my essay I studied the autograph and documented description of his pilgrimages between 1957-1974. Fodor had asked the parish priest, the guardian or the bishop present to write some sencentes into his book and had it stamped at the shrine each time. He was ill for longer periods. We don’t know much about the pilgrimages he had after 1974. In 1950 he got married, but his marriage went wrong soon. He had rather bad connections to his only son who died at the age of 29. József Fodor died alone in hospital in 1984. Summarizing the above, it can be said that József Fodor had had a remarkably rich life. Even without knowing much about the period between 1940-1956 we must consider that he had led 153 groups of pilgrims during 18 years between 1957-1974, among them 12 groups were led abroad. During the ten years between 1962-1971 when he took 120 groups on pilgrimages, 45 shrines were visited in Hungary and 16 ones abroad. Looking at the routes of his pilgrimages on the map his favourite shrines can easily be seen. There are places he often returned to, - but he was always keen on going to new places as well.
József Fodor’s procession leading spirituality and the form of reverence preferred by him can be described by studying the patronal festivals and the special features of the shrines he visited.
Sándor Soós
etnographer - museologist