Preparations are in progress for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic from 26th to 28th September. 77-year-old Czech Cardinal Miloslav Ulk, Archbishop of Prague and Primate of Bohemia, says he is delighted to welcome Pope Benedict.
He had tendered his resignation two years ago on reaching the retirement age of seventy-five, but Pope Benedict asked him to stay on as Metropolitan of Prague for the present.
Ordained aged thirty-six during the short-lived period of religious liberty known as the "Spring of Prague" (1968), Miloslav Ulk was then forbidden by the Communist authorities to practise as a priest and had to live secretly for some years in the mountains.
Later he worked as a window cleaner and as an archivist in a state bank. Only twenty-one years later after the "Velvet Revolution" (1989) was he allowed to work again as a priest. Two years later in 1991 he was named Archbishop in succession to Cardinal František Tomášek.
The Czech Republic is probably one of the least religious countries in Europe, but had a strong tradition of underground resistance to Communism. Sixty percent of the population regard themselves as atheist or agnostic, twenty-seven percent are Catholic and three percent Protestant. By contrast, in the neighbouring country of Slovakia, seventy per cent of the population is Catholic.
Up to 1992 both countries formed one Czechoslovakia, but under President Václav Havel, Slovakia and the Czech Republic negotiated a peaceful separation called the "Velvet Divorce.”
Since then both countries are friendly terms and co-operate well together as members of the European Union.
The visit of Pope Benedict has a special significance. Although Pope John Paul II came three times to Prague (once in 1990 when it was Czechoslovakia and twice - 1995 and 1997 - to the Czech Republic), no pope has up till now visited the historical region of Moravia, evangelised by St Methodius and where most of the Catholics live.
Also on Monday 28th September is the feast of St Wenceslaus, the country's patron, who was said to have been killed by his brother Boleslav. The Pope will travel to Stará Boleslav to visit the church of his martyrdom there, a short distance north-east of Prague.
As usual the schedule is packed with meetings and liturgical celebrations. On the evening of Saturday 27th September after the Pope's arrival at Prague airport, he will visit the Church of St Mary of Victory, where the statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague is honoured.
Then at the Presidential Palace he will be welcomed officially by President Václav Klaus and meet political and civic leaders. Later he will celebrate Vespers with the priests, religious, seminarians and lay communities in the Cathedral of St Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert.
On Sunday the Pope will fly to Brno, the chief city of Moravia, and will celebrate the Sunday Mass at the airport there. In the evening, he returns to Prague for an ecumenical meeting with leaders of Christian Churches at the Archbishop's Palace and a meeting with academic representatives in the Vladislav Room of Prague Castle.
On Monday, the Holy Father and will celebrate Mass for the feast of Saint Wenceslaus and address the young people there. Returning to Prague, he will lunch and have a meeting with the bishops of the Czech Republic at the archbishop's palace in Prague.
Finally, he will travel to Prague's Stará Ruzyne airport, from where he will take the two-hour flight back to Rome's Ciampino arriving at 7.50 pm.
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