István Váncsa

His Eminence Stephen Báncsa
Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Esztergom
Stephen Báncsa in 1255
Province	Esztergom
See	Esztergom
Appointed	14 August 1242
Installed	7 July 1243
Term ended	1252
Predecessor	Matthias Rátót
Successor	Benedict II
Other posts	Cardinal Bishop of Praeneste
Orders
Created Cardinal	December 1251
Rank	Cardinal-Bishop
Personal details
Died	9 July 1270
Nationality	Hungarian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Bishop of Vác (1241–1243)

Stephen (I) Báncsa (Hungarian: Báncsa or Váncsa (I) István; died July 9, 1270) was the first Hungarian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

He was a descendant of the original settler family, Bács. In 1236 he was Provost of Bács and Chancellor of King Béla IV between 1238 and 1240. In 1241 he was appointed Bishop of Vác by King Béla. He was elected by the Cathedral Chapter as Archbishop of Esztergom in 1243, being transferred from the Diocese of Vác with the permission of Pope Innocent IV, granted on July 7, 1243. On July 19, 1243, Pope Innocent wrote to the new Archbishop, appointing him Apostolic Legate in Croatia and Dalmatia. He served as Archbishop until he was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Praeneste (Palestrina). Even so, he continued to serve as Administrator of the Diocese of Esztergom (Strigonia) (1252–1254), until a successor, Archbishop Benedict, was appointed on February 25, 1254. He was advised, however, that during his Administratorship, he should not give away pensions or prebends without the express permission of the Holy See.

Báncsa was made cardinal in December 1251 by Pope Innocent IV, and appointed the Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina. This was at a time when the church was having problems with the Tatars.

In 1253, he became ill, due to his being unaccustomed to the climate, among other reasons, and he therefore petitioned Pope Innocent IV to allow him to return to Hungary. Innocent and the cardinals were reluctant to lose him and his expertise, but Innocent granted him the privilege of returning to Esztergom, and continuing his administration of that diocese, until the next Feast of All Saints (November 1). At that point he was to resign the Church of Esztergom to a prelate of the Kingdom of Hungary of his choice, and return to the Papal Curia by Christmas, 1253. If he did not return by that date, the bishopric of Palestrina was to be considered vacant. He returned, of course.