New pastor at St. Stephen Parish

PASSAIC  Bishop Sweeney officially installed Father Laszlo Balogh as pastor of St. Stephen Magyar Parish here Feb. 14. During his first visit to the parish, the Bishop was main celebrant of the Mass, which marked the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At the end of the Mass, a blessing of couples was also held to mark the feast day of St. Valentine, patron of love and married couples.

St. Stephen Magyar Church was founded in 1903 to serve the immigrants from Hungary, who settled in the city of Passaic, and each of its pastors came from Hungary. Father Balogh was ordained to the priesthood on June 21, 1997 in Hungary, where he was born. He came to the United States to serve St. Stephen’s and its Hungarian community in September 2018.