Jan Baxant
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Jan Baxant (born 8 October 1948) is 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 *Czech (surnam ...
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
bishop, being the leader of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Litoměřice Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
since 2008.


Biography


Early life

Baxant was born in a large Catholic family and has five siblings, two sisters and three brothers. Two of his siblings have also joined consecrated life, his brother Pavel is a Catholic priest and his sister Marie is a nun. He graduated from the Secondary Technical School of Surveying 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 ...
and later from the Cyril and Methodius Theological Faculty in
Litoměřice Litoměřice (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. The town is the seat of the Roman C ...
. He was ordained priest on 23 June 1973 by
František Tomášek František Tomášek (30 June 1899, in Studénka, Moravia – 4 August 1992, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia, the 34th Archbishop of Prague, and a Roman Catholic theologian. His "cautious bu ...
. In addition to
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 *Czech (surnam ...
, Baxant speaks
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
.


Priestly ministry

Baxant was a parish vicar in
Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...
from 1973 to 1975, he then served as administrator of the parish of Bystřice from 1975 to 1983, and then the parish at the Church of Sts. Antonín Paduánský 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 ...
-
Holešovice Holešovice () is a district in the north of Prague situated on a meander of the River Vltava, which makes up the main part of the district Prague 7 (an insignificant part belongs to Prague 1). In the past Holešovice was a heavily industrial su ...
from 1983 to 1990. In 1990 he became Vice-Rector, and in 1993 Rector, of the Archbishop's Seminary in Prague. On 1 January 2003 he became vicar general of the diocese of
České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...
.


Ordination as bishop

On 4 October 2008,
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
appointed him the seat of bishop of the diocese of Litoměřice. He received the episcopal consecration at the hands of Cardinal
Miloslav Vlk Miloslav Vlk (; 17 May 1932 – 18 March 2017) was a Czech prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Prague from 1991 to 2010. He was made a cardinal in 1994. He was also the President of the Council of European Bishops' ...
at the St. Stephen's Cathedral in
Litoměřice Litoměřice (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. The town is the seat of the Roman C ...
on 22 November 2008. The Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic,
Diego Causero Diego Causero (born 13 January 1940) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. From 1992 to 2015, he served as the head of the Vatican's diplomatic mission in several African a ...
, and the Bishop of
České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...
,
Jiří Paďour Jiří Paďour Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, OFMCap (4 April 1943 – 11 December 2015) was auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Prague from 1996 to 2001, and the List of Bishops of České Budějovice, Bishop of České Budějovice from 2002 ...
O.F.M. Cap., served as the co-consecratos. Baxant chose his bishop's motto as the Latin phrase "Ut videam", meaning "let me see". The chosen bishop's coat of arms is a quartered shield and combines his personal coat of arms (golden sun in the second and third blue fields) and the diocesan coat of arms (red quartered heraldic cross in the first and the fourth blue field).


Life as Bishop

Baxant is considered a conservative bishop and for a time was frequently referred to as one of the serious candidates for to become Archbishop of Prague after the retirement of Archbishop Vlk. On 25 April 2009 Baxant celebrated the
Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in ...
while attending a pilgrimage to honor St. Vojtech in
Litoměřice District Litoměřice District () is a Okres, district in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Litoměřice. Administrative division Litoměřice District is divided into three Districts of the Czech Republic#Munici ...
. The mass has been requested by the local spiritual administrator Jan Radim Valík OSB to be according to the missal of 1962. In the 40 years since Vatican II Baxant became the first Czech bishop to officially celebrate mass according to the pre-
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
tradition. Since then Baxant has periodically celebrated mass in the Tridentine form. On 12 April 2017 Baxant was hospitalized with a heart attack. He was temporary replaced by the emeritus auxiliary bishop of Prague, Karel Herbst. By 1 June 2017 Baxant had resumed his role of bishop after recovering from the heart attack.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxant, Jan 1948 births Living people People from Karlovy Vary 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Czech Republic