By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
“At 7 p.m., go to the spot. Go to the statue of Beethoven; and there, a gentleman in white will be waiting for you.”
These words could have been lifted from a page-turning spy thriller, a tale of espionage, romance, and perhaps a few explosions; but they’re actually the words of Father Julius Leloczky, O.Cist., as he recalled a clandestine moment in his own life.
Father Leloczky’s autobiography, “All is Grace! My Life,” follows his personal journey from his family’s bakery in Hungary, through the religious suppression of communist Hungary and the upheaval of the Hungarian Revolution, all the way up to his life at the tranquil Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey in Irving, where he currently resides.
Father Leloczky, who was born in Győr, Hungary in 1932, came of age in a time of turmoil and political upheaval. In 1949, a Soviet occupied, communist Hungary commandeered private stores and shops, including his family’s beloved pastry shop. In 1950, at a time when Father Leloczky’s own religious devotion was growing, the government moved to suppress religious orders, forcing religious practice underground.
The autobiography recounts the true and curious details of Father Leloczky’s clandestine vocation story—his journey to becoming an underground Cistercian novice; the shock of his post-Hungarian Revolution move from Hungary, where he had to hide his identity, to Rome, where he could wear his Cistercian habit openly; and his arrival in Texas, in 1964, where he had to adjust to his new, foreign surroundings.
The autobiography has been 12 years in the making for the Hungarian priest.
“Every day, I wrote a couple of pages, and that’s how the structure of the book came out. I gave a number to each day’s section—1, 2, 3, 4—and even now the book is numbered according to that,” he said, “which was very much a phase, a particular topic, or years.”
After more than a decade of typing his legacy into the keys of a laptop, Father Leloczky finished his book in 2023.
Although he initially wrote his autobiography for the purpose of sharing his story with his American friends, he decided to share the tale with a larger audience.
The story was published Jan. 28, 2024, by En Route Books and Media, the publisher of the priest’s previous book, “‘That They May Have Life’ (John 10:10): 35 Meditations.”
Father Leloczky said his hope in sharing the story of his life is that readers will learn about their own lives.
“Their life story also leads through happy times and difficult times, health and illness, and success and lack of success—all of it comes from God’s hand. Of course, we influence our life; but even when God allows us to do stupid things, or sinful things, He corrects that,” Father Leloczky said. “People will realize that life is guided by God. That’s the purpose of writing this book.”
Underneath the clandestine meetings, the cross-world travel, and the twists and turns of his journey, Father Leloczky’s story is ultimately a tale of grace—God’s providence and goodness.
“All my life, I realized that whatever happens in one’s life is not a coincidence,” Father Leloczky said. “God directs one’s life. Sometimes through difficulties, sometimes through happy times. But everything is directed by the Lord.”
Cutline for featured image: Father Julius Leloczky, O. Cist., a Cistercian monk at Our Lady of Dallas Abbey in Irving, published an autobiography, “All is Grace! My Life,” earlier this year. The account covers the events of his life, including the pursuit of his vocation under the religious suppression of communist Hungary. (Amy White/The Texas Catholic)
