Josef Vrana (17 October 1905, in Stříbrnice – 30 November 1987, in

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

) was the administrator of the archbishopric of Olomouc, as well as titular bishop of Octabia.The diocese of Octaba
at www.gcatholic.org

Life

After the death of the interned archbishop of Olomouc, Josef Karel Matocha In 1961, the

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

n authorities refused to accept a new bishop candidate ( František Vaňák) proposed by 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 R ...

. Finally, Josef Vrana, who was a member of the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...

, was appointed an administrator on 19 February 1973. The position of Vrana was controversially discussed. In order to avoid worse controversy, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

accepted his appointment and appointed him at the same time to the

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Octabia. Nevertheless, the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

had no confidence in him, and avoided mentioning him as a "bishop of Olomouc," as the state authorities have demanded. In the episcopal conference of which he was a member, Vrana was supposed to push through the state's requirements and expectations. Nevertheless, he has also endeavored to fulfill his duties as a bishop. Neither his bishop's colleague nor the faithful who saw him as a traitor trusted him. On the part of the state authorities he was awarded an award, but at the same time he was also mistrusted, For example, his office and his telephone calls were monitored. Vrana was buried in the Fürstenbergkapelle of

Saint Wenceslas Cathedral Saint Wenceslas Cathedral ( cs, Katedrála svatého Václava) is a gothic cathedral at Wenceslas Square in Olomouc, in the Czech Republic, founded in 1107. The square was named after Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia on the thousandth anniver ...

, where an epitaph records him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrana, Josef 1905 births 1987 deaths Archbishops of Olomouc Roman Catholic archbishops in Czechoslovakia Roman Catholic bishops in Czechoslovakia People from Přerov District Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members