Cardinal Josef Beran - Prague, Czech Republic
Posted by: Anneke
N 50° 06.148 E 014° 23.267
33U E 456217 N 5550203
The statue of Cardinal Josef Beran (1888-1969) in Dejvice, Prague.
Waymark Code: WM7YQ5
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 12/24/2009
Views: 170
Josef Beran was born on December 29, 1888 in Pilsen, and oradained a priest on June 10, 1911 in Rome. From 1932, he was the director of the Prague seminary and a theology professor at the Charles University in Prague. He was arrested during the Nazi occupation and jailed first at the Pankrác prison in Prague, then in Terezín and Dachau concentration camp.
On November 7, 1946 he was appointed the Prague archbishop. After the Communist coup in February 1948, he refused to submit to the new regime (e.g. he prohibited his clergy from taking an oath of loyalty to the communists). He was therefore placed under house arrest in the Archbishop palace and later at other places in the Czech Republic.
On January 1965, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Paul VI. Czech government consented to his trip to Rome but with no chance of return. After some doubt he agreed and left in exchange for several concessions to the Church (e.g. appointing a persecuted bishop František Tomášek the next archbishop of Prague).
In Rome, Cardinal Beran participated in the work of Second Vatican Council. He also founded “Czech religious center Velehrad” and he prompted the process of the canonization of Agnes of Bohemia.
When he died on June 17, 1969, the Communist government did not allow the transport of the body to his country. Pope Paul VI therefore decided that he would be buried next to Popes in the crypt of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He is the only Czech person to have received this honor.
Associated Religion(s): Roman Catholic
Statue Location: Thákurova street, Dejvice (in front of the Theological Faculty)
Entrance Fee: none
Artist: Stanislav Hanzík
Website: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the statue. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the image but it doesn't hurt.