Ioan Moța was born in Nojag, Austria-Hungary (today Certeju de Sus, Hunedoara County, Romania),[1] on 15 December 1868, although some sources list his date of birth as 31 December.[1] His father was a priest.
Moța attended school in Nojag, Brad, and Brașov. After completing secondary school, he attended a theological seminary in Sibiu. He was ordained a priest in 1899.[1]
While in Sibiu, he became interested in journalism, and founded the journal Foaia Poporului ("The People's Paper"). He also became involved in Romanian nationalist politics, seeking the unification of Transylvania with Romania. After moving to Oraștie in 1899, he wrote for the newspapers Bunul Econom ("The Good Economist") and Libertatea ("Freedom"), the latter of which was edited alongside several prominent Romanian nationalist figures. Ownership and editorship of Libertatea was later transferred to Moța. Facing suppression of the newspaper in Austria-Hungary, Moța relocated to Bucharest, where he continued his journalistic activity.[1]
He enlisted in the Romanian Army during the First World War.[1] During this period, he also collaborated with the newspaper Epoca ("The Epoch", edited by Nicolae Filipescu), writing for a column titled "Ardealul vorbește" ("Ardeal speaks") alongside figures like Octavian Goga and Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu. In March 1917, Moța was a member of a group of exiled Romanian Habsburg subjects who were sent as a delegation to the United States to agitate for the Romanian cause,[2] during which he continued to publish Libertatea out of Cleveland, Ohio.[1]
Moța returned to Transylvania after the unification of Romania,[1] and became protopope of Oraștie.[3] He also became politically-involved, running in a series of Romanian elections. He was elected senate representative for Hunedoara County in 1931, as a candidate for Uniunea Națională ("The National Union").[4] He would later become associated with the National Peasants' Party, and was briefly arrested for his political activity in 1933.[5][6]
In 1937, after his son Ion was killed when fighting as a Nationalist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, Ioan Moța gave him a memorial editorship role at Libertatea. The deceased Ion Moța was listed as "Director sufletesc" ("Soul director" or "Spiritual director") of the newspaper from March 1937 onwards.[7]
