The Apostolic Nuncio to Czechoslovakia was an ecclesiastical office of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, established in 1920 and lasting, with significant interruptions, until 1993. It was a diplomatic post of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, whose representative is called the

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

with the rank of an ambassador. The office of the nunciature was located in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

History

The relationship between the Holy See and the government of Czechoslovakia was strained more often than not. In the 1920s, Apostolic Nuncio

Francesco Marmaggi Francesco Marmaggi (31 August 1876 – 3 November 1949) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation of the Council and, earlier, as Nuncio in Romania, Czechoslovakia and Poland, as well as being a specia ...

left Prague to protest public celebrations of the Czech national hero

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...

, a heretic in the eyes of the Church. Years of negotiations established a new working relationship, but the Vatican failed to persuade the Czechs to allow Marmaggi to return as nuncio, not even a face-saving few weeks. World War II ended normal relations, and the Holy See sought a diplomatic middle ground by granting recognition to the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, a Nazi client state, but sent a chargé d’affaires rather than a nuncio. Relations were restored only briefly after the war before the new Communist government expelled the nuncio and terminated diplomatic relations. Finally, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the parties renewed their old ties, but in less than three years Czechoslovakia divided into the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Czechoslovakia became nuncio to both of those new nations.

List of papal representatives to Czechoslovakia

;Apostolic nuncios *

Clemente Micara Clemente Micara (24 December 1879 – 11 March 1965) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1909 to 1950 and was Vicar General of Rome from 1951 until his death. Pope Pius ...

(15 May 1920 - 30 May 1923) *

(30 May 1923 - 13 February 1928) *

Pietro Ciriaci Pietro Ciriaci (2 December 1885 – 30 December 1966) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council in the Roman Curia from 1954 until his death, and was elevated to the card ...

(15 February 1928 - 9 January 1934) *

Saverio Ritter Saverio Ritter (24 January 1884 – 21 April 1951) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He was born in Chiavenna, in the Province of Sondrio, Italy, on 24 January 1884 and was ordaine ...

(5 August 1935 - 1939) *

Giovanni Coppa Giovanni Coppa (9 November 1925 – 16 May 2016) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as a diplomat of the Holy See, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2007. Biography Born in Alba on 9 November 1925, Giovan ...

(30 June 1990 – 1 January 1993)

Notes

References

{{Reflist, 30em

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

History

List of papal representatives to Czechoslovakia

See also

Notes

References