Jan Vokal (born 25 September 1958) is the current Bishop of Hradec Králové since his installation on 14 May 2011. He had previously served as an official in the Secretariat of State. Vokál was born in 1958 at

Hlinsko Hlinsko () is a town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,400 inhabitants. It is the natural centre of a microregion called ''Hlinecko''. The local part of Betlém is well preserved example of folk arc ...

(

Pardubice Region Pardubice Region ( cs, Pardubický kraj; , ; pl, Kraj pardubicki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It ...

). He earned a degree in Engineering Cybernetics at the Technical University in Prague. In 1983 he was admitted to the College of Saint John Nepomuk in Rome and studied philosophy and theology at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pont ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

28 May 1989 for the diocese of Hradec Králové. He continued his education in the United States at St. Thomas University and worked as assistant priest in the

Diocese of Peoria The Diocese of Peoria ( la, Diœcesis Peoriensis, Peoria, Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the central Illinois region of the United States. The Diocese of Peoria is a suffragan diocese w ...

, in the United States. In 1991 he began his service at the Secretariat of State (Section for General Affairs). From 1992 to 2005 he was personal secretary of Cardinal Corrado Bafile, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In 2008 he obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, i.e. in both civil and canon law, from the

and in the following year a doctorate in civil law at the

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

. In 2005 he was appointed a coadjutor canon of the Chapter of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. He was appointed to Hradec Králové by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

on 3 March 2011, consecrated a bishop on 7 May, and installed on 14 May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vokal, Jan 1958 births People from Hlinsko Charles University alumni Pontifical Lateran University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Czech Republic Living people