Tomáš Josef Špidlík, S.J. (17 December 1919 – 16 April 2010) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was a Jesuit priest and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

made him a cardinal in 2003.

Biography

Špidlík was born in 1919 in

Boskovice Boskovice (; german: Boskowitz) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. The area of the historic town centre, Jewish quarter, château complex and castle ruin is well preser ...

, then

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

, now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. In 1938, he entered the Department of Philosophy at the University of Brno, in what is now the Czech Republic. In the following year, he entered the Jesuit novitiate and after many interruptions in his education due to World War II, he was ordained a priest of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on 22 August 1949 in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. in 1949. A year later, in Florence, he finished his formation period as a Jesuit. In 1951, Špidlík was called to Rome by

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

. The programs broadcast to the countries behind the Iron Curtain were a precious aid to a freedom in danger of being slowly but inexorably suffocated. From this work with Vatican Radio sprang a special mission that would always accompany him and that made him known in lands despite their communist domination. Among others, he met with

Alexander Dubček Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...

, the former first secretary of the Central Committee 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 ...

, and

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

, who became president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic after the fall of the communist regime. Špidlík's Sunday homilies in Czech have been translated and published in various languages including Polish, Romanian and Italian. He lived in Rome from 1951 until his death. In 1995 he delivered the annual Lenten retreat meditations for the pope and officials of the Roman Curia. In June he defended his doctoral dissertation at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...

in Rome. That year marked the beginning of his university career as a professor of Patristic and Eastern Spiritual Theology at various universities in Rome. Špidlík became known as an expert in the spirituality of Eastern Christianity. For 38 years he was the spiritual director of the Pontifical Nepomuceno Seminary, the old Bohemian Seminary. On 21 October 2003, at the age of 83, he was created

Cardinal Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Co ...

of the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

of Sant'Agata dei Goti. Although he was not a voting cardinal, he was created a cardinal in recognition of his theological writings. The Cardinal was a prolific author and was equally acknowledged in the academic and international fields. He was received at the Kremlin, led the spiritual exercises of Pope John Paul II and his Curia, and was decorated with the medal of the Masaryk Order, one of the highest honors of the Czech State, by president

. In 2005 Špidlík delivered the meditation on the first day of the papal conclave just before the first ballot was taken. Because of age he was not eligible to participate in the voting. He died in Rome on 16 April 2010.

References

Works

*Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook (Cistercian Studies) Language: English *Prayer: The Spirituality of the Christian East Vol.2 Publisher: Liturgical Press (30 July 2005) *Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary : Ancient Wisdom for Today's World (Cistercian Studies, No 148) Publisher: Cistercian Publications (June 1994) *Geist und Erkenntnis: Zu spirituellen Grundlagen Europas : Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Prof. ThDr. Tomas Spidlik SJ (Integrale Anthropologie) Publisher: Minerva Publikation (1985) Language: German *Les grands mystiques russes Publisher: Nouvelle cité (1 January 1995) *Le chemin de l'esprit: Retraite au Vatican (Initiations) (French Edition) Publisher: Fates (1996) Language: French *Ignazio di Loyola e la spiritualita Orientale: Guida alla lettura degli Esercizi (Religione e societa) (Italian Edition) Publisher: Edizioni Studium (1994) Language: Italian *Zive slovo: Denni evangelium (Czech Edition) Publisher: Refugium Velehrad-Roma; Vyd. 1 edition (1997) Language: Czech *Sculptured Prayer: Twelve works of Helen Zelezny interpreted by Thomaso Spidlik. Rome 1968. Language English. Finito di stampare nello Stabilimento di Arti Grafiche Fratelli Palombi in Roma

External links

Pontifical Oriental Institute Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spidlik, Tomas Czech cardinals 1919 births 2010 deaths Czech Jesuits Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Pontifical Oriental Institute alumni Jesuit cardinals Jesuit theologians

Biography

See also

References

Works

External links