František Tomášek (30 June 1899, in
Studénka,
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
– 4 August 1992, in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
,
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
) was a
cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, the 34th
Archbishop of Prague, and a Roman Catholic
theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
. His "cautious but resolute opposition to the Czechoslovak communist regime helped to bring about its peaceful demise in the 1989
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
".
Biography
Early life and education
Born in 1899 in what was then part of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
, 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 Faculty of Theology, where he obtained a doctorate in 1938. Soon after, the Nazi occupation led to the closure of Czech universities and Tomášek returned to teaching. After the war, Tomasek again taught in the faculty and also obtained a second doctorate.
Episcopacy
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
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
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.
To the surprise of many, the government permitted him to attend the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
, the only Czechoslovak bishop able to participate in all the sessions (1962–1965).
In 1965 Cardinal
Josef Beran, the Archbishop of Prague, was allowed to leave Czechoslovakia in accordance with an agreement that, in return for concessions to the Church, he would remain in Rome, and Tomášek was appointed on 18 February 1965 to administer the archdiocese, thus finally being permitted to leave Moravská Huzová.
Tomášek speedily pledged support for the reforms of the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...
under
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovaks, Slovak statesman who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czech ...
in 1968. With the greater freedom allowed, he set about applying also the reforms instituted by the Second Vatican Council. The Soviet-led
invasion of August 1968 again removed almost all the freedoms won under Dubček, though the state permission for the Eastern-rite Church to exist was not revoked.
Cardinalate
On 24 May 1976
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
secretly (''
in pectore
(Latin for 'in the breast/heart') is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals without a public ...
'') appointed Tomášek to the
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...
. In the following year, the Pope felt the danger of reprisals by the Czechoslovak government was sufficiently diminished for him to publish the appointment on 27 June 1977. He also appointed Tomášek Archbishop of Prague, the see over which it had been considered more prudent to let Tomášek continue to have only the powers of an apostolic administrator even after the death of Cardinal Beran on 17 May 1969.
Tomášek took part in the
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.
In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...
and
October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôctō'' meaning "eight") after Januar ...
conclaves of 1978 that elected
John Paul I and
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
. The latter, an old friend of Tomášek, infused new courage in the leaders of the Catholic Church in east-central Europe, including Tomášek, who proceeded to criticise government policies openly and to back initiatives by lay organisations demanding greater freedom, including
Charter 77
Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
.
Late life and death
The
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
of November 1989 was followed by Pope John Paul II's April 1990 visit to Czechoslovakia, his first visit to a country, other than his native Poland, under a communist regime. On 27 March 1991, when Tomášek was almost 92 years old (long past the age of 75 at which bishops are to offer their resignation), his resignation from the governance of the Archdiocese of Prague was made effective. He died on 4 August 1992.
His residence headquarters in Prague
František Tomášek's residence headquarters in Prague were used as the Emperor's palace in the filming of ''
Amadeus'', according to the credits.
imdb.com page on ''Amadeus'' (Retrieved December 27, 2017)
/ref>
References
External links
* Corley, Felix (5 August 1992)
''The Independent''.
"Tomasek, Frantisek"
''Britannica Student Encyclopaedia''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasek, Frantisek
1899 births
1992 deaths
Roman Catholic archbishops of Prague
Czech cardinals
20th-century Roman Catholic theologians
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Czech Republic.
Burials at St. Vitus Cathedral
Participants in the Second Vatican Council
Roman Catholic archbishops in Czechoslovakia
Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI
Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
Palacký University Olomouc alumni
People from Studénka
Czech archbishops