The journey through life of a 16-year-old boy from a village in Eastern Slovakia to the world of industrial, political, religious and cultural figures became legendary. Štefan Boleslav Roman was born on 17th April 1921 in Veľký Ruskov near Trebišov. In 1937, he left for Canada. He worked on a farm and in a car factory and also joined the Canadian Army.  He made good use of his intelligence and tenaciousness in his new country. In 1945, he started to trade in mining securities.

Subsequently, he, together with colleague Mr. Arthur Stollery purchased mining claims at Elliot Lake and themselves hired prospectors to work the claims. They there found the biggest uranium deposit in the world. Denison Mines Ltd. opened the largest uranium mine in the world in 1957.  Later, he expanded his business to include trade in other commodities and built a stable industrial and financial consortium Roman Corporation. 

As a young man, Š. B. Roman had already been active in the organisation of the cultural and social life of Slovaks in Canada. Later, his economic background and international relationships allowed him to inform the world of the so-called Slovak issue. In 1970, he summoned representatives of the Slovak compatriot organisations from all over the world to New York, where they agreed to establish an organisation that would provide joint representation to fight for the sovereignty and democracy of Slovakia. In 1971 Š. B. Roman founded the Slovak World Congress in Toronto (Canada). funded it, and was responsible for attracting Prime Ministers and U. S. Presidents to it. He presided over the organisation from its establishment to his death in 1988.

The spiritual coat of arms of Š. B. Roman also included the symbol of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church. In 1968, he lent this Church his support and subsequently, it was able to resume its activities in Czechoslovakia. He also contributed to the establishment of the Slovak Ecclesiastical Province as well as the Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto. It would not exist without him and proof is, since his gone, the Eparchy was ruined by its Bishops and is now as shadow of its former self. He was responsible for the funding, the vision and the construction of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, in Markham near Toronto, it was modelled on the Church of the Protection of Virgin Mary in his native village of Veľký Ruskov. The Cathedral was consecrated by the Pope, John Paul II, on 15th September 1984.

Š. B. Roman was awarded the Knight Commanderʼs Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and the European Charles IV Prize. He was awarded with honorary doctorates by three Canadian universities. However, he did not live to receive the highest Canadian decoration, the Order of Canada. The decoration was conferred on his 67th birthday. Unfortunately, Š. B. Roman, one of the most famous Slovak personages in the world, died 25 days before the ceremony, on 23th March 1988. Slovakia honoured its giant as late as 1990, granting him the National Award of the Slovak Republic. In 1995, he was posthumously awarded with the Order of the First Class White Double Cross, the highest state decoration, by the President of the Slovak Republic, Michal Kováč.

Helen Roman-Barber