Alexander Rudnay, born in 1760 in Jasenovó, rose to become the first Slovak-born Cardinal of the Catholic Church, appointed to the Archbishopric of Esztergom in 1819 — the most senior ecclesiastical position in the Kingdom of Hungary. The 2019 issue marks the 200th anniversary of that appointment.
Esztergom's primatial authority dated to the reign of Stephen I, making Rudnay's elevation politically charged in an era of intensifying Magyar nationalism.
Alexander Rudnay, born in 1760 in Jasenovó, rose to become the first Slovak-born Cardinal of the Catholic Church, appointed to the Archbishopric of Esztergom in 1819 — the most senior ecclesiastical position in the Kingdom of Hungary. The 2019 issue marks the 200th anniversary of that appointment.
Esztergom's primatial authority dated to the reign of Stephen I, making Rudnay's elevation politically charged in an era of intensifying Magyar nationalism.