Funeral services for Father Laszlo F. Rauch set for March 8
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Father Laszlo F. Rauch, who was ordained a priest for 64 years and pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, Normandy Beach, from 1986 until his retirement in 2000, died March 5. He was 87.
Funeral services will be held March 8 in Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Morris Hall, Lawrenceville. The Rite of Reception of the Body will be held at noon and the Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m.
Born Sept. 12, 1926, in Budapest, Hungary, Father Rauch was ordained a Pauline Father in Pécs, Hungary, March 13, 1949 by Bishop Ferenc Virag. Eighteen months later, he was arrested by attempting to flee the communist-dominated country and spent three years in prison.
Following his release, he was forbidden to function as a priest and went to work in a shipyard. Determined to continue his priestly ministry, he planned to leave the country at the first opportunity, and that came with the Hungarian uprising in 1956. He escaped to Austria, then went to Rome, where he did post-graduate work at the Gregorian University, earning a licentiate in theology in 1959.
After an assignment in Bern, Switzerland, Father Rauch came to the United States to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Doylestown, Pa., where he served for the next 18 years. During that time he served as chaplain and assistant professor in Gwynedd Mercy College, Gwynedd Mercy, Pa.
Father Rauch first became a parish priest in June, 1978, at Mary, Mother of God Parish, Flagtown. That same year, with the permission of Bishop George W. Ahr, he came to the Diocese of Trenton, serving as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Keyport. On March 23, 1982, he was incardinated by Bishop John C. Reiss as a priest of the diocese.
On Sept. 21, 1984, Father Rauch was named associate pastor of St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville, where he served for two years until his appointment as pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish on June 6, 1986.
Father Rauch was also named chaplain of the Serra Club of Ocean County in 1990. At an area facility, he also ministered to persons suffering with addictions.
He is survived by several nieces and nephews who live in Hungary.
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Father Laszlo F. Rauch, who was ordained a priest for 64 years and pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, Normandy Beach, from 1986 until his retirement in 2000, died March 5. He was 87.
Funeral services will be held March 8 in Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Morris Hall, Lawrenceville. The Rite of Reception of the Body will be held at noon and the Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m.
Born Sept. 12, 1926, in Budapest, Hungary, Father Rauch was ordained a Pauline Father in Pécs, Hungary, March 13, 1949 by Bishop Ferenc Virag. Eighteen months later, he was arrested by attempting to flee the communist-dominated country and spent three years in prison.
Following his release, he was forbidden to function as a priest and went to work in a shipyard. Determined to continue his priestly ministry, he planned to leave the country at the first opportunity, and that came with the Hungarian uprising in 1956. He escaped to Austria, then went to Rome, where he did post-graduate work at the Gregorian University, earning a licentiate in theology in 1959.
After an assignment in Bern, Switzerland, Father Rauch came to the United States to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Doylestown, Pa., where he served for the next 18 years. During that time he served as chaplain and assistant professor in Gwynedd Mercy College, Gwynedd Mercy, Pa.
Father Rauch first became a parish priest in June, 1978, at Mary, Mother of God Parish, Flagtown. That same year, with the permission of Bishop George W. Ahr, he came to the Diocese of Trenton, serving as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Keyport. On March 23, 1982, he was incardinated by Bishop John C. Reiss as a priest of the diocese.
On Sept. 21, 1984, Father Rauch was named associate pastor of St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville, where he served for two years until his appointment as pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish on June 6, 1986.
Father Rauch was also named chaplain of the Serra Club of Ocean County in 1990. At an area facility, he also ministered to persons suffering with addictions.
He is survived by several nieces and nephews who live in Hungary.
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