The school-year of 2026–2027 is a special time of thanksgiving and celebration in the lives of the Benedictines of Győr: it celebrates the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jesuit-founded Benedictine secondary school. As one of the milestones of the jubilee, a new, exciting, interactive exhibition opened on May 15th in the attic of the convent and church.

The traveling exhibition titled Kings, Saints, Monasteries – The World of Early Benedictines in Hungary in the Light of the Latest Academic Research was on display at the Faculty of Humanities of Pázmány Péter Catholic University this spring. Ten lectures on the history of the Benedictines were organized in connection with the exhibition. On May 5, Tamás Dénesi gave a lecture on the history of the Order of Saint Benedict in the 17th–18th centuries.

Between April 23 and 25, the students and teachers of the Munkács Szent István Lyceum visited Pannonhalma as part of the recently established sister school relationship. The group of forty people was accompanied by the Benedictine school chaplain Arnold Hortobágyi. The guests from Transcarpathia (Ukraine) were guided through the monastery by students from Pannonhalma, who enthusiastically told them about the sights of the archabbey and student life here. During the archive visit led by Zoltán Boros, they also gained insight into the history of Pannonhalma.

On April 21, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the prince's birth, the Hungarian Corvin Chain Board organized a scientific conference entitled The Life and Cult of Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II. Two days later, on the 23rd and 24th, in Vaja, in the beautifully renovated Renaissance castle museum, Rákóczi was also at the centre of the academic discussion. At both events, our archives were represented by director Tamás Dénesi, who gave lectures on the relationship between the Benedictines and the War of Independence.

The conference program can be viewed here:

On April 15, 2026, the Győr Archives Day was held for the 27th time, hosted again this year by the Brenner János Theological College. The first section of the scientific conference featured presentations on the history of the 1956 revolution. In the second section, Zoltán Boros, archivist of Pannonhalma, gave a presentation on his research experiences in the history of the Benedictine Seconary School in Győr during the era of Dualism, the occasion for which was the 400th anniversary of the founding of the secondary school.

On March 21, the feast of Saint Benedict, at a ceremony held in the library, Parish Priest Tihamér Majlát, head of the Celldömölk-Alsóság Saint Nicholas Parish, presented a volume that had left Pannonhalma at least 240 years ago. The work of the Bavarian Jesuit Matthias Faber, who also worked in Hungary, Concionum Sylva nova seu Auctarium (Cologne, 1695), was acquired in 1715 for the Pannonhalma convent, according to the possessor entry. The registrar also recorded another piece of information in the publication: the sermon volume was used by Father Villebald.

The staff of the Veszprém Archiepiscopal Tourist Centre visited the Archabbey on February 27 to exchange experiences. They toured the monastery, its collections (including our Archives), the winery, the fragrance museum, and the gift shop. In our institution, we discussed how our Archives can be part of the Pannonhalma tourism programs. A few days later, the tour guides of the Archabbey spent a longer time with us. During the now customary meeting, we tried to answer their questions about the history of the order and the abbey.

A conference entitled “Local Forms of Everyday Life in Hungary in the Light of 18th–20th Century Archival Sources” was organized by the “MTA-ELTE Lendület” Historical Folkloristics Research Group on February 20th.

A book by Archabbot Emeritus Asztrik Várszegi about his predecessor, Norbert Legányi, has been published. The title of the volume is: “My Task Is to Lead the Order through the Red Sea” – The Struggle of Norbert Legányi, Archabbot of Pannonhalma with the Communist State Power (1958–1969).

On the Day of Hungarian Culture, Ilona Ásványi, Director of the Pannonhalma Archabbey Library, and Tamás Dénesi, Director, and Zoltán Boros, Archivist, of the Pannonhalma Archabbey Archives received a ministerial certificate of recognition for their outstanding work in preserving local and national culture. The awards were presented at the Győr-Moson-Sopron County Gala and Award Ceremony celebrating the Day of Hungarian Culture, held in Sopron.