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Didák Sámuel Kelemen was born sometime in 1683 in the area of Romania known as Transylvania and went to an elementary school run by the Franciscan Conventual friars. He was so impressed by the friars, that when he was old enough, he joined the order. In religious life, he received the name Didák.
He studied at the Conventual Franciscan’s university in Prešov, today part of eastern Slovakia. He received a master’s degree in theology, made his perpetual vows in 1704, and was ordained a priest in 1708.
Until his death in 1744, Fr. Didák worked tirelessly to serve all who needed his help, whether they were victims of war, plague, poverty, sickness, or ignorance.
In one of his first assignments, for example, Fr. Didák was sent to Baia Mare, Romania. When he arrived, he discovered that the convent which he was supposed to provide spiritual direction had burned down. The town was in shambles, for it was continually buffeted by various warring factions. It was in Baia Mare that Fr. Didák began nursing the plague-stricken sick, burying the dead, and begging for funds to help them when needed. Those who knew him reported that his compassion and kindness were highly developed.
After his experience in Baia Mare, Fr. Didák requested, and received, permission to other villages around the Baia Mare area. He discovered that the people of the villages had had no spiritual attention during the war. He also discovered that the Protestant inhabitants of the villages greeted him with hostility. Fr. Didák, however, greeting the hostility with kindness. Soon, he earned the respect of all the people because of his kindness toward the poor and his nursing of the sick.
Fr. Didák also established schools, churches, and convents in the various places he visited and worked. In some areas he visited, he discovered villages where there had been no Church presence for over two hundred years.
In 1739, while visiting villages in the Great Hungarian Plain, Fr. Didák encountered an epidemic of plague. For the next two years, he worked tirelessly as a nurse and priest. This would be his last missionary journey after thirty years of hard work.
On April 21, 1744, Fr. Didák died. Even while he was alive, he was considered a “holy man.” Since 1753, his order and all the Hungarian bishops since then, have requested that the Church beatify him. However, due to a turbulent history of Hungary and other eastern European nations, that never happened. However, in June of 1990, Fr. Didák was declared Servant of God.
