CT News
June 9, 2026 : After a process spanning two decades, two Catholic priests martyred for their faith under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia in the early 1950s have been beatified.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, a native of the Czech Republic, celebrated the beatification Mass on June 6 recognizing Fathers Jan Bula and Václav Drbola. The two will be commemorated annually on June 17 in the Churchʼs liturgical calendar.
The Mass drew 13,000 people and was widely covered by national media in one of the most secular countries in Europe.
The priests Jan Bula (1920–1952) and Václav Drbola (1912–1951) were popular with their parishioners, active in community life, and loyal to the bishops. They were imprisoned without cause and accused of complicity in the killing of three communists, although they were already in prison at the time. They were executed after a staged trial in the early 1950s.
Related reading :
.png)
.png)
.png)