Palánki Ferenc celebrates funeral Mass for Szegedi Kálmán

Archbishop Ferenc Palánki celebrated a funeral Mass for Father Kálmán Szegedi on September 17 at the Sacred Heart Church in Debrecen. Szegedi, an honorary canon and parish priest, died on September 12 at age 69 during his 44th year of priesthood.

Palánki, who serves as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza and is the appointed Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét, was joined by Zoltán Krakomperger, the director of the episcopal office, and István Németh, the episcopal secretary, along with other local priests.

In his homily, Palánki described the priesthood as a response of love to God's call and noted Szegedi's devotion to God and the Church during illness and hardship, his role in connecting people to God through the sacraments and the Word, and his diligent work ethic. Szegedi served as a parish priest in Demecser and at the Sacred Heart parish in Debrecen, and worked as a high ecclesiastical judge.