TÓTH, TIHAMER. - Bishop, orator, and educator, born at Szolnok (Hungary) in 1889, died at Veszprém on 5 May 1939.
After completing his literary studies at Szolnok and his theological studies at the Central Seminary in Budapest, he served as a military chaplain during the First World War; subsequently, recalled to duty, he became a professor of theology at the Seminary in Eger. Soon deciding to dedicate himself in a special way to men and young people, he began a series of conferences for them in the university church, organized student circles and social groups, and published newspapers and periodicals suited to their needs. The unrest of the post-war period provided abundant material for his zeal and his clear, lively, and timely oratory, which, broadcast over the radio, made him famous and sought after from all parts of the world. In 1924 he was appointed to a chair at the University of Budapest, and in 1938 he was consecrated Bishop of Veszprém.
Among his works, translated into many languages and published in numerous editions, the following series (cited here in the Italian edition) still retain their value: Consigli ai miei giovani [Advice to My Young People]: I. Giovinezza pura [Pure Youth] (Italian ed., Venice 1928); II. Formazione del giovane [The Formation of the Young] (ibid. 1930); III. Il carattere del giovane [The Character of the Young] (ibid. 1931); IV. La religiosità del giovane [The Religious Life of the Young] (ibid. 1934); V. Cristo e il giovane [Christ and the Young] (ibid. 1935), crowned by a volume for educators: L'educatore spirituale dei giovani [The Spiritual Educator of the Young] (ibid. 1936); I dieci comandamenti [The Ten Commandments] (2 vols., ibid. 1938); Il simbolo degli Apostoli [The Apostles' Creed] (7 vols., ibid. 1940–48). He also treated various questions separately: Matrimonio e famiglia [Marriage and the Family] (Rome 1944); Gesù Cristo e i problemi del nostro tempo [Jesus Christ and the Problems of Our Time] (ibid. 1946).