Order of Malta

It is with deep sadness that we inform our confreres and our readers that Father Imre Kozma, Honorary Conventual Chaplain Grand Cross ad honorem, founding President of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, passed away this morning at dawn.

Links to the announcement published by the Hungarian Association, and to the obituary on the website of the Charity Service.

Two years ago, he gave an interview to Hungarian Catholic Radio in which he said, "I believe in God and in the work we do." This has been his guiding principle throughout his life. He was an example of Christianity in action. It was this willingness to act that led to the founding of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta in 1989, of which he was President until his death. In conflict zones around the world - the Romanian revolution, the Balkan war, in the most difficult countries in Africa - and now the war in Ukraine, he came to the help of those who suffer, not only through his prayers but also by organising humanitarian aid. He believed that God's word, His message of reconciliation and forgiveness, would be heard by those fighting.

In 1990, he became a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta as a magistral chaplain. In 1998, he was made Conventual chaplain ad honorem and in 2009, he was promoted to the rank of Grand Cross. He continued to work in the last years of his life;  his regular Masses in the chapel of the Hungarian Association of the Knights of Malta also gave us the opportunity to hear his views on current world issues. He was a public man, and in the turbulent waters of public life and politics he always guided those who listened according to God's will.

In times of war, he always stressed the need for peace. In his last interview with Mandiner, he said: "Evil can be conquered only by good, there can be no real solution through fighting. As I said in an earlier interview that to make peace, you have to get to the point where you can even accept to lose. There is no stake greater than peace!"

He was also deeply concerend with the fate of the nation. At the funeral of the folk singer Ilona Budai, he said: 'The Hungarian past has the strength to hold, this strength is able to endure the present and to cope with the future. All this is very necessary in this confused modern world, which thoughtlessly gives up its traditional values."

We will not forget his smile, his confraternal embrace, his unbroken serenity despite the difficulties.