511. Mihály Horváth (1809–1878), Minister of Education and Religion in the Szemere government.

Autograph signed order to the town of Szentes.
He calls on the authorities to wait until the investigation he ordered into the case of local parish priest Mátyás Leeb has been completed. Until then, the person concerned should not be subjected to any reprisals.
Lajos Labádi writes the following about the case in his study entitled "The Memory of Mihály Horváth in Szentes": "On March 14, 1849, the Szentes City Council ordered that a thanksgiving service be held in every church in Szentes in memory of the first anniversary of the great day of March 15 in Pest, and that the pastors say a prayer for the triumphant conclusion of the Hungarian War of Independence. On March 15, the pastors of all denominations complied with the city council's request, except for Catholic parish priest Mátyás Leeb. He held morning mass, but then closed the church and left Szentes. The gathered faithful waited patiently for their priest for a while, then opened the church and held the festive service themselves without a priest. The general assembly reprimanded the parish priest for his unpatriotic behavior and reported him to Sebő Vukovics, the plenipotentiary national commissioner. At the end of March, Vukovics brought the parish priest of Szentes before the emergency court in Szeged. Public opinion demanded his removal, but there were also those who expected him to be sentenced to death by hanging for treason. However, before events could escalate, Mihály Horváth, Minister of Religion and Public Education, intervened on Mátyás Leeb's behalf, and thus no harm came to him. (He remained parish priest in Szentes until his death in 1878.)"
1 written page(s). Dated: Debrecen, 15 May 1849.
Provenance: In Géza Vasberényi's collection envelope.
 
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