Kecel is one of the settlements in Kiskunság that had to be resettled after the expulsion of the Turks. The Archbishop of Kalocsa, Gábor Patachich, of Croatian origin, invited settlers to the territory of today’s city. It was exactly 290 years ago that the high priest issued the certificate of resettlement. On Monday afternoon, the people of Kecel commemorated this occasion and the 31st anniversary of the town’s inauguration.
Photo: Zsolt Barta
First, the townspeople remembered the former event and the local parish priest Mihály Gubik, a posthumous honorary citizen, who is fondly remembered not only in the city, but also in several settlements of the county. The Holy Mass was celebrated by the Most Reverend Parish Priest Szabolcs Fekete. Pastor Gubik was a pastor observed in socialism, who criticized the system, did not encourage peace priests, and helped a lot to the Hungarians who were separated across the border, even to the East German citizens fleeing at the end of the summer of 1989.
After the wreath-laying, the mayor Ferenc Haszillo welcomed the celebrants in the basement of the museum, who emphasized that this time no one would be given the usual city recognition.
Now the commemoration was organized based on Archbishop Patachich and the Roman Catholic heritage. The Croatian pastor was born in Varasd, Croatia in 1699, then returned to his birthplace as a priest in 1722, where he served as parish priest. Later, he was appointed canon of Zagreb, then bishop of Sérém, and then, from 1733, archbishop of Kalocsa. A year later, the decree was created with which Kecel was resettled.
At the event, Ferenc Haszillo listed the archbishop’s other activities, with which the high priest carried out the reconstruction of the archdiocese from the time of St. Stephen. He then thanked the current Archbishop of Kalocsa and the staff of the local parish.
Kecel Bács-Kiskun’s gem
Parliamentarian Gábor Bányai took over from the mayor of the city. The politician began by praising the people of Keceli as someone from far away. Bács-Kiskun is the gem of the town of just under 8,000. The county was rich until the Turkish subjugation, after which it was depopulated due to the destruction of the pagans. After it was driven out, the area had to be revitalized. The ancestors rebuilt the settlement over the course of nearly 15 generations. As he said, hearing voices that think the settlement is boring, there are better places. However, he told them that it is possible to try to follow the ancestors in the field of reconstruction. Then, changing the subject, he remarked: the city is still an agricultural settlement. Although there may be problems with agricultural production – frost, drought, low purchase prices – the work of producers is still very important. Actors in this sector receive five times more support than representatives of other economic areas. At the same time, it is also true that most of the tax revenue comes from the industrial players. Looking at the future and the present, Gábor Bányai pointed out that we can be successful when people unite and act together to represent their interests. He then went on to say that in the 1970s he met Mihály Gubik, a native of the city, in whose honor an exhibition was opened. In 1975, the legendary parish priest served at Jánoshalmá. After the politician, Rékasiné dr. Gizella Oláh remembered the pastor, and then the exhibition opened.
