Ján Vojtaššák

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Bronze bust of Peter Valach in Ružomberok (German: Rosenberg)
Episcopal coat of arms

Ján Vojtaššák (born November 14, 1877 in Zákamennye -Klin / Kingdom of Hungary ; today Zákamenné / Northern Slovakia ; † August 4, 1965 in Řičany / German Ritschan near Prague / Czechoslovakia ) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Spiš (Spiš).

Life

Ján Vojtaššák was born the seventh of eleven children of the farmer Anton Vojtaššák and his wife Anna, born Klimčíková. The registry entry in the baptismal register of his home parish names November 15, 1877 as his baptism date . On the advice of the local pastor, to whom he was minister, the parents sent their son to his uncle Anton Klimčík in 1887, who was pastor in Stankovany , who sent the boy to the royal high school in Trstená and Ružomberok in 1889 . Shaped by his tutors, he developed the desire to become a priest early on . He entered the seminary in Spiš - Spiš in September 1895 . On July 1, 1901, the Spiš Bishop Pál Szmrecsányi ordained him as a priest . He celebrated his primacy a week later in his hometown. During the years in parish ministry, the young priest became a popular confessor. As the editor of Catholic newspapers, he was also active as a journalist.

On November 16, 1920 Pope Benedict XV appointed him . to the bishop of Spiš. He received the episcopal ordination on February 13, 1921 in the Cathedral of St. Emmeram in Nitra , together with the newly appointed Bishops Karol Kmetko of Nitra and Marián Bláha of Banská Bystrica , by the Apostolic Nuncio , Archbishop Clemente Micara . Co- consecrators were Karel Borromäus Kašpar , auxiliary bishop in Königgrätz , and Anton Podlaha , auxiliary bishop in Prague . In July 1925 he convened a diocesan synod, which dealt with the spiritual life of the priests, the organization of divine services, the dispensing of the sacraments and the catechetical instruction especially of children, but also of young people and adults. The calling of new religious orders to his diocese, popular missions , parish visitations and the formation of priests were among his special concerns. After Czechoslovakia was broken up, Vojtaššák became a member of the State Council of the First Slovak Republic, which collaborated with Germany . In this function he campaigned intensively for the deportation of Slovak Jews. Bishop Ján Vojtaššák was tried in Czechoslovakia in July 1950; he was sentenced to 24 years in prison ( Leopoldov ) in January 1951 at the age of 73 for high treason . In 1963 he was pardoned but placed under police supervision in Prague.

He died on August 4, 1965 in Řičany near Prague, where he had to live in exile because he was not allowed to step on Slovak soil. After his death he was transferred to Slovakia and buried in his hometown of Zákamenné. The beatification process began in 1996 and in 2003 his remains were transferred to the Cathedral of St. Martin (Spišská Kapitula) .

literature

  • Miklós Lackó: Vojtaššák, Ján . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . Volume 4. Munich 1981, p. 437 f.

Web links

Commons : Ján Vojtaššák  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ján Vojtaššák, handwritten notes
  2. ^ Revue des Ordinations Épiscopales, Issue 1921, Number 10
  3. ^ Letter from SS-Untersturmführer Urbantke, March 28, 1942 (PDF; 7 kB)
  4. ^ Note from Undersecretary of State Luther on a communication from Ambassador Ludin from March 29, 1942 (PDF; 15 kB)
  5. ↑ Short biography of Jan Vojtaššák (Diocese of Spiš) (Slovak)
predecessor Office successor
Alexander Párvy Bishop of Spiš
1920–1965 		František Tondra
personal data
SURNAME Vojtaššák, Ján
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Slovak clergyman, bishop in Spiš
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH Zákamenné , Northern Slovakia
DATE OF DEATH 4th August 1965
Place of death Prague