František Tomášek
|
His Eminence František Tomášek |
|
|---|---|
| Cardinal, Archbishop emeritus of Prague | |
Cardinal František Tomášek – memorial plaque in Moravská Huzová
|
|
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | Prague |
| Installed | 1977 |
| Term ended | 1991 |
| Predecessor | Josef Beran |
| Successor | Miloslav Vlk |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of Santi Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 5 July 1922 |
| Consecration | 13 October 1949 |
| Created Cardinal | 27 June 1977 by Paul VI |
| Rank | Cardinal |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 June 1899 Studénka, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) |
| Died | 4 August 1992 (aged 93) Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Previous post |
Auxiliary Bishop of Olomouc (1949-1965) Apostolic Administrator of Prague (1965-1977) |
| Motto | Laxabo Rete |
| Coat of arms |  |
|
Styles of František Tomášek |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Prague |
František Tomášek (30 June 1899, Studénka, Moravia – 4 August 1992, Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia, the 34th Archbishop of Prague, and a Roman Catholic theologian. His "cautious but resolute opposition to the Czechoslovak communist regime helped to bring about its peaceful demise in the 1989 Velvet Revolution".
Born in 1899 in what was then part of the Austrian Empire, Tomášek was one of the six children of a schoolteacher who died when he was still a boy. After completing his schooling and military service, he studied at Saints Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Olomouc and was ordained on 7 May 1922. He taught religion in schools. Later he also taught at the Cyril and Methodius theological faculty, where he obtained a doctorate in 1938. Soon after, the Nazi occupation led to the closure of the Czech universities and Tomášek returned to schoolteaching. After the war, Tomasek again taught in the faculty and also obtained a second doctorate.
In spite of the opposition of the communist government in power in Czechoslovakia since February 1948, which, as well as imposing censorship on sermons and pastoral letters and banning many religious organisations, demanded its own approval for Church appointments, Pope Pius XII appointed Tomášek Auxiliary Bishop of Olomouc on 12 October 1949. Tomášek was secretly consecrated the very next day.
In 1950 Tomášek, with all the other bishops loyal to Rome, and half the priests were arrested and sent to labour camps. Monasteries and all but two of the Catholic seminaries were closed, and the Eastern-rite Catholic Church in Slovakia was banned. In 1953 Tomášek was freed from the Želiv camp, but allowed to function only as parish priest in the village of Moravská Huzová.
...
Wikipedia