The appointment announced on Monday followed months of deliberation. Archbishop-elect Pribyl will succeed Archbishop Jan Graubner, who was appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Prague in 2022 as a temporary measure replacing Cardinal Dominik Duka.
In line with Church regulations, Graubner submitted his resignation upon reaching the age of 75 in August 2023. Pribyl will take up the post on 25 April.
The 55-year-old is one of the youngest archbishops in Prague’s history. His episcopal motto is Pax vobis – peace be with you – and he said he would aim to bring understanding, peace and hope to the Church and Czech society.
“I am particularly concerned about peace within the Church. In my opinion, striving for it must be the first step,” Pribyl told the Czech section of Radio Vaticana.
“It is not just a matter for the church and the Prague archdiocese. It often seems that when we come to an idea, we first examine who said or wrote it and then evaluate the content accordingly. Everything is too ad hominem.”
He was born on 16 November 1971 in the Strasnice district of Prague, graduated from the Secondary School of Geodesy and later entered the novitiate of Lubaszowa in Poland (1990-1991) where he subsequently took religious vows in the Redemptorist Congregation.
From 1991 to 1996 he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University and simultaneously completed his education at the Archbishop’s Seminary in Prague. After his priestly ordination in 1996, he was parish vicar in Svatá Hora (1996-99) and parish priest (1999-2008). From 2002 to 2011, he was provincial of the Redemptorist Province in the Czech Republic.
In 2004-8, Pribyl served as the president of the Archdiocesan Charity of Prague. He also continued his studies of theology, finance and management as well as of art history.
He served as secretary general of the Czech bishops’ conference from October 2016, speaking publicly on behalf of the Church in the Czech Republic, until his appointment as Bishop of Litomerice in November 2023.