A Community Born of Revolution
In 1956, new life came to Saint Mary of Victories when the church was entrusted to a Hungarian congregation that had previously worshipped at St. Stephen’s Church, 12th and Chouteau Streets. These were men and women who had fled Soviet tyranny in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 — carrying nothing but their faith, their language, and their determination to preserve Hungarian Catholic culture in a new land.
Though entirely self-supporting and unable to maintain the full complex (all buildings except the church and school were eventually razed), the Hungarians invested deeply in what they had — new roofs on church and school, a new church floor, and conversion of the school to a parish hall. The community placed themselves under the co-patronage of Saint Stephen of Hungary (975–1038) — the first King of Hungary, who Christianized the Magyar people and was canonized in 1083. His feast day, August 16, remains one of the great celebrations of parish life.
In June 1974, Venerable Cardinal József Mindszenty — the heroic Archbishop of Esztergom who had survived Communist imprisonment and fifteen years of exile in the U.S. Embassy in Budapest — visited Saint Mary of Victories and celebrated Mass here, bringing powerful words of encouragement to the Hungarian faithful. The parish hall was named Mindszenty Hall in his honor. Pope Francis declared him “Venerable” on February 12, 2019. His cause for canonization remains open in Rome.
The Hungarian community has continued for nearly seven decades to preserve its language, culture, and faith through parish-sponsored activities, liturgy, and community life.
Venerable Cardinal József Mindszenty
Cardinal József Mindszenty
Imprisoned, tortured, and exiled by Communist Hungary, Cardinal Mindszenty embodied the faith that the Hungarian community of Saint Mary of Victories carried with them to America. His June 1974 visit to our chapel inspired a generation and gave the community renewed purpose. His cause for sainthood is open in Rome.
Liturgy, Culture & Language
Hungarian Masses, prayers, and devotions became part of the rhythm of parish life from the beginning. The community celebrated the great feasts of the Hungarian church calendar, honored their saints, and maintained living connections with Hungary across the ocean. To this day, the Sunday Mass at Saint Mary of Victories incorporates elements of Hungarian alongside English and Latin — a deliberate and beloved preservation of the parish’s heritage and a gift to all who seek worship rooted in deep tradition.
This multilingual liturgy is a testament to the layered history of the community and connects us to the broader story of Catholic Hungary — including the suffering of Hungarian Catholics under Communist rule, commemorated each year on October 23, the anniversary of the 1956 Revolution.
Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation Speaker Series
Since 2019, Saint Mary of Victories has partnered with the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation — co-founded in Saint Louis in 1958 — to host an annual speaker series in Mindszenty Hall. These events bring scholars, authors, and eyewitnesses to discuss the Cardinal’s legacy and the ongoing struggle for religious freedom.
Past featured speakers include parishioner and author Les Suhayda, whose book 12 Bells to Freedom tells his family’s harrowing escape from Communist Hungary.
Learn About the CMF Partnership →A Living Heritage
The Hungarian dimension of Saint Mary of Victories is not merely historical memory. It is a living inheritance that shapes the prayer, devotion, and identity of the parish community today — carried forward by families who have been here since 1956 and by new friends who have come to love this remarkable chapel.
✦ Do you have a family story to share? ✦
The Hungarian community of Saint Mary of Victories is built on stories like these — stories of courage, faith, and freedom that deserve to be preserved and passed on. If your family came through this church, we would be honored to hear your story.
To learn more about recent events at Saint Mary of Victories — including the Saint Louis Rosary Run, the Oblates of Wisdom era, and the Archdiocesan All Things New reorganization — visit our Our Living History page.
Faces of the Community — Their Stories
The Hungarian community at Saint Mary of Victories was built not by abstractions but by individuals — men and women who fled Soviet tyranny with nothing but courage and faith, and who found a home here. These are some of their stories.
Zsolt Rumy — Patron and Benefactor
1942 – 2024
Zsolt Rumy
1942–2024
No name is more synonymous with the survival of Saint Mary of Victories in recent decades than Zsolt Rumy. Born in Budapest on December 1, 1942, Zsolt was fourteen years old when Soviet tanks crushed the Hungarian Revolution. He escaped with his family through the International Red Cross and Catholic Charities, arriving in America as a teenage refugee with nothing but courage and intelligence.
He built one of the most extraordinary careers in American industrial history — founding Power Dynamics in 1975, which became Zoltek Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of industrial-grade carbon fiber. His carbon fiber innovation found its way into aircraft brakes, wind turbine blades, and automobiles from the Tesla Roadster to the Corvette. The University of Minnesota honored him with an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2019. He retired in 2014, having built an empire from nothing — the very definition of the American dream.
In 2010, Zsolt made a transformative major donation to Saint Mary of Victories that enabled the chapel to continue its mission at a critical moment. His quiet and extraordinary generosity helped ensure that the doors stayed open and that worship could continue in this sacred space. His love for this place was personal — it was the Hungarian Catholic home that had welcomed his family and countrymen.
Zsolt wrote his remarkable life story in the memoir The Will to Do and the Soul to Dare (Dorrance Publishing, 2018) — a 436-page account that takes the reader from a childhood throwing Molotov cocktails at Russian tanks in Budapest to the boardrooms of global industry. It is a book every American should read.
Zsolt Rumy passed away on February 3, 2024, at his home in Jupiter Hills, Florida. He was 81. A private family Mass was offered here at Saint Mary of Victories. His remains were returned to Hungary.
His devoted wife of 55 years, Mary Gallagher Rumy, has continued his legacy of generosity to Saint Mary of Victories with grace and faithfulness. We are eternally grateful to Zsolt and to Mary. Without them, this chapel would not stand as it does today.
Mary V. Csengody — Champion of Heritage
1922 – 2019
Mary V. Csengody
1922–2019
Born Mary V. Chapo in 1922, Mary V. Csengody was married to the late Julius Csengody, Sr. for 63 years and was the mother of six children, fourteen grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. A fixture at Saint Mary of Victories for over six decades, Mary and her family were at the heart of the Hungarian Catholic community in St. Louis — attending, serving, supporting, and embodying the spirit of this chapel.
Mary was an active participant in local cultural events celebrating Hungarian heritage and European fine arts in the St. Louis area. She and her family kept alive the traditions, devotions, and community bonds that define the Hungarian chapter of Saint Mary of Victories.
Most significantly, Mary Csengody was instrumental in the successful campaign to have Saint Mary of Victories added to the National Register of Historic Places — a federal recognition bestowed on August 28, 1980, affirming the church’s enduring national significance. The application cited the church’s architectural importance, its role in European immigrant history, and its significance in the history of religion in America. Without advocates like Mary, this designation — which has helped safeguard the chapel to this day — might never have been secured.
Mary passed away on November 9, 2019, at the age of 97. She is survived by her children Gabor, Tom, Agnes, and Judi, and by the legacy of her six decades of faithful service to this church.
May she rest in peace.
Albert Futo — Resistance Fighter
First Generation
Albert Futo
Photo: St. Louis Public Radio
Albert Futo was a resistance fighter stationed in Budapest when Soviet tanks rolled in on the morning of November 4, 1956. He woke at 3:30 a.m. to the sound of rumbling tanks spreading across the country. With no ammunition and no means of defense, he escaped over an 8-foot fence under machine-gun fire, changed out of his uniform in a farmhouse, and made his way across Hungary to the Austrian border — crossing on a farmer’s tractor before the Russians blew the bridge and closed the frontier.
Futo came to Saint Louis and found his community at Saint Mary of Victories. For decades he sang in the choir, including at the 60th anniversary commemoration Mass in November 2016, wearing the Hungarian red, white, and green on his lapel. His son Mike later told his father’s story on camera for UMSL’s oral history project — so that future generations would not forget. Albert Futo passed away on October 29, 2024. May he rest in peace.
Read the St. Louis Public Radio story →Imre Jokuti — Soldier and Survivor
First Generation
Imre Jokuti
Photo: St. Louis Public Radio
Imre Jokuti was a young soldier when the revolution broke out. Surrounded by Soviet tanks at his barracks, cut off from ammunition, he made a desperate escape — climbing fences under machine-gun fire, hiding in a mill stream, changing into civilian clothes given by a terrified farmwoman, making his way through Russian checkpoints on foot. At the border, he crossed a bridge just before the Russians blew it up. People behind him were shot swimming across in November rain.
Jokuti reached Saint Louis, built a life, and remained part of the Saint Mary of Victories community for the rest of his life. At the 60th anniversary Mass in 2016, he stood and sang the Hungarian national anthem, his cane painted in the Hungarian tricolor. St. Louis Public Radio covered his story in a full oral history profile. Imre Jokuti passed away on December 22, 2021. May he rest in peace. His family has continued to be wonderfully active, generous, and faithful in the life of Saint Mary of Victories — a living extension of his devotion to this chapel and to the Hungarian Catholic community he loved.
“I’m lucky I’m still here; I can tell a story. The first time I went back to Hungary… he was crying. That was hard. I’m still thinking about it. I shake when I think about it.”Read the full oral history at St. Louis Public Radio →
— Imre Jokuti
Les (Bela) Suhayda — 12 Bells to Freedom
Author & Mindszenty Speaker
Les Suhayda
at SMV
Les Suhayda was seven years old when his family fled Hungary in the chaos following the 1956 uprising — five people crossing minefields and sniper fire to reach Austria, leaving behind grandparents, aunts, and everything they owned. He grew up in the United States and became a devoted member of the Saint Mary of Victories community and one of the featured speakers in our partnership with the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation speaker series.
Les wrote his family’s story in the book 12 Bells to Freedom — a riveting account of one family’s harrowing journey from communist Hungary to freedom in America. Reviewers have called it “a riveting story… a great reminder that those who came before us made great sacrifices so that the lives of future generations would enjoy liberty.” It is available on Amazon. Below is Les speaking about his family’s story.
Les and his wife Beth are active and beloved members of the Saint Mary of Victories community. Their generous sponsorship of the 2025 Annual Picnic exemplifies the spirit of giving that has sustained this chapel, and we are deeply grateful for their support. Les serves as a Chapel Council member and advisor on Hungarian affairs — bringing his deep knowledge of Hungarian history, culture, and community to the ongoing stewardship of this chapel.
Voices of Our Community — A UMSL Partnership
In 2024, students from the University of Missouri–St. Louis Pierre Laclede Honors College came to Saint Mary of Victories as part of their community engagement course, Beyond the Buildings, taught by Prof. Rob Wilson. After touring the church, meeting parishioners, and hearing the stories of the Hungarian community firsthand, they were moved to give something back. Out of their own generosity and talent, they created a remarkable collection of projects to honor and preserve the Hungarian heritage of our parish.
We are deeply grateful to these students and to Prof. Wilson for their time, creativity, and genuine love for our community. Their work will help tell our story to future generations.
Oral History Interviews
Several students produced oral history video interviews with members of the Hungarian community in St. Louis — capturing stories of escape, courage, and faith before they are lost to time. As student John Granicke reflected: “Even if the building for St. Mary of Victories is actually torn down one day, this video will live on forever. We can publish it online and share it with future generations. So it’s a really cool thing to do.”
Interview with Mike Futo
Produced by UMSL students Rae Cohen, John Granicke, and Colin Ring. Mike Futo, a second-generation Hungarian immigrant, recounts his father Albert’s life in Hungary during the 1956 uprising, his harrowing escape, and his life in America — centered on Saint Mary of Victories. Albert Futo was a resistance fighter in Budapest who woke to Soviet tanks on November 4, 1956, and ultimately crossed into Austria to find freedom.
Interview with Meghan McInnes
A third-generation Hungarian immigrant, Meghan McInnes details her grandfather János (John) Bata’s harrowing escape from Hungary during the 1956 uprising and his subsequent immigration to America. She explains the central role Saint Mary of Victories played in János’s life and the impact our church has had on her entire family across generations.
Other UMSL Student Projects
Maté Makes Meals — Hungarian Cookbook
Students Emily Jesse and Rae Cohen created a traditional Hungarian cookbook inspired by a beloved handmade mouse named Maté — a children’s character beloved in our parish community. The cookbook brings Hungarian recipes to life with the warmth and spirit of our community. For purchasing information, contact us at welcome@smov.info.
Historical Timeline
Student Theresa Colombini, studying international relations and marketing, designed a new illustrated historical timeline now displayed in the Hungarian Cultural Center (Mindszenty Hall). It traces the rich history of Saint Mary of Victories from its 1843 founding through the 1956 Hungarian community’s arrival and the present day.
Digital History & Website
Michael Raffelson revitalized the Saint Mary of Victories website, adding new pages covering Mass times, events, and the church’s history. Students also contributed essays to UMSL’s Digital Humanities site and the International Institute of St. Louis, ensuring our story reaches wider audiences.