Vladimír Filo (15 January 1940 – 18 August 2015) was a Slovak Roman Catholic bishop.

Biography

Vladimír Filo was born on 15 January 1940 in the village of

Gáň Gáň () is a village and municipality in Galanta District of the Trnava Region of south-west Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1113. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, it was ...

Galanta District Galanta District (''okres Galanta'') is a district in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. The district lies on the lowland area. Through the district area flows river Váh and its level is regulated by dam in Kráľová nad Váhom. Historica ...

. He studied theology at the

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

and was ordained a priest on 25 July 1962. Afterwards, he served as a chaplain in several parishes, including Senec,

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

Kolárovo Kolárovo (before 1948: ''Guta''; or earlier ''Gutta'') is a town in the south of Slovakia near the town of Komárno. It is an agricultural center with 11,000 inhabitants. Basic information The town of Kolárovo is located in the Podunajská n ...

, and

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; ) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km fr ...

. In 1966, he was appointed ceremoniary at the diocesan office in Trnava. Two years later, in 1968, he was sent to Rome for further studies. From 1976, he served as parish priest in Veľký Cetín. On 17 March 1990,

Pope 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 ...

appointed him auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Trnava The Archdiocese of Trnava (, ) is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in western Slovakia including bigger part of the Trnava, and parts of Nitra and Trenčín regions. It has its seat in Trnava. Although it is an archdiocese, it is not a metropolita ...

and assigned him the titular see of Thucca in Mauretania. He was consecrated as a bishop on 16 April 1990 in Trnava. Between 1990 and 1991, he served as rector of the Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Bratislava. From 1990 to 1998, he was also a professor of canon law at the Comenius University. Beginning in 1992, he held the position of judicial vicar at the ecclesiastical court. He was also the chairman of the Slovak Liturgical Commission.

Bishop of Rožňava

After becoming the bishop of Rožňava, Filo promised to finish restoration of Church property, that had been nationalized during Communist rule of Czechoslovakia. He cancelled business agreements with the oligarch Jozef Majský, negotiated during the tenure of his predecessor Eduard Kojnok. In 2013, Filo ordered the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

to leave the diocese, without providing any reason, despite having previously praised the Salesians as an inspiration behind his decision to become a priest. After Filo retired in 2015, his successor

Stanislav Stolárik Stanislav Stolárik (born 27 February 1955) is a Slovak prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rožňava. Biography Stanislav Stolárik was born on 27 February 1955 in Rožňava as a seventh ...

invited the Salesians to return to the diocese.

Death

Vladimír Filo died briefly after retirement on 18 August 2015, at the age of 75 in

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...

. He was buried in his home village of Gáň.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filo, Vladimir 1940 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Slovakia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Slovakia People from Galanta District Comenius University alumni Academic staff of Comenius University