In honour of Bishop Antal József Peitler, the founder of the library, the Diocesan Library of Vác organised a jubilee conference entitled Library – Books – People on the occasion of its 150th anniversary.
At the conference, the life and major achievements of Bishop Peitler were presented in detail by Balázs Rétfalvi, research fellow of the Fraknói Research Group. In his lecture he drew, among other things, on the biographical entry on Peitler published in the recently issued Bishops Lexicon of Bishops compiled by the Research Group (he authored the entries on the bishops of Vác and Veszprém).
Peitler served the king in Buda and Vienna alongside Minister of Religion and Public Education Leo Thun, and in the year of his episcopal consecration, 1859, he arrived from Vienna to the Diocese of Vác, where he served until his death. He founded and renovated schools, churches and parishes, reorganised clerical income, established a pension fund and created new teaching posts. His most significant contribution to public education was the establishment of the Diocesan Library of Vác in 1875, to which he devoted more than 40,000 forints from his personal wealth. This enabled the construction of the building that continues to house the library to this day. His genial character long remained the subject of clerical anecdotes. The lecture contributed to launching a systematic research programme on the history of the Diocese of Vác during the age of Dualism.
In connection with the topic, Balázs Rétfalvi also gave an interview (here).
Photos: Diocese of Vác; Balázs Rétfalvi
