Apostolic Nunciature to the Czech Republic

Contents

The Apostolic Nunciature to the Czech Republic (Czech: Apoštolská nunciatura v České republice) is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the Czech Republic. It is located in Prague. The current Apostolic Nuncio is Archbishop Eugene Nugent, who was named to the position by Pope Leo XIV on 25 May 2026.

The nunciature is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, with the rank of an embassy. The nuncio serves both as the ambassador of the Holy See to the President of the Czech Republic, and as delegate and point-of-contact between the Catholic hierarchy in the Czech Republic and the pope.

Holy See-Czech Republic relations

Relations between the Holy See and what is now the Czech Republic began in 1919 with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but the relationship between the Holy See and the government of Czechoslovakia was strained more often than not.[1]

After the fall of Communism, in April 1990 the Holy See re-established official diplomatic relations with Czechoslovakia.[2] This was followed in 1993 with the Holy See recognising the Czech Republic in January 1993.

After 2000 talks on a concordat began. This was signed in 200 but in May 2003, the Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly to reject ratification.[3]

In 2013 Parliament passed the Church Restitution Law where the Czech state returned 56% of seized assets to local religious groups and pay €2.3 billion in financial compensation over 30 years.[4]

Concordat

On 24 October 2024, at the Office of the Prime Minister an Agreement between the Holy See and the Czech Republic on some legal questions was signed by Cardinal Parolin and Petr Fiala. The agreement affirms the right of religious freedom, the right of the Church to operate according to her own rules. It guarantees the right of conscientious objection to military and medical workers. It also protects the inviolability of the sacramental seal, without conditions. It also recognises the Church's right to establish educational and charitable bodies.[5]

In 2026 the Constitutional Court halted the ratification of a concordat, citing violations of the country's constitutional order. The ruling, freezes the treaty over concerns about the total secrecy of confession and involves access to ecclesiastical archives.[6]

Nuncios

Archbishop Giovanni Coppa was named Apostolic Nuncio to Czechoslovakia on 30 June 1990. With the division on that country into Slovakia and the Czech Republic on 1 January 1993, Coppa became nuncio to each of them, based in Prague.[7]

References

  1. 1.The new Czechoslovak government demanded that the majority of incumbent bishops be replaced and systematically implemented a persecutory anti-church policy. Due to this imposition, Pavel Huyn, Primate and Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Lev Skrbenský z Hříště, Archbishop of Olomouc, and at least other six bishops had been replaced or forced out to resign. After 1921 only two pre-war bishops were allowed to remain. Luboslav Hromjak, Pietro Gasparri, il governo cecoslovacco e la Slovacchia in Laura Pettinaroli e Massimiliano Valente, Il cardinale Pietro Gasparri, segretario di Stato (1914-1930), Heidelberg University Publishing, 2020, pp. 185-206. The essay explicitly discusses the government's "persecutory policy against the Church" (politica ecclesiastica di carattere persecutorio, p. 189).
  2. 2.[1]
  3. 3.Czech government expected to give statement on future co-operation with Vatican
  4. 4.[2]
  5. 5.Holy See Communiqué: Signing of the Agreement between the Holy See and the Czech Republic on some legal questions, 24.10.2024
  6. 6.[3]
  7. 7."Apoštolská nunciatúra: Diplomatické styky SR s Vatikánom". Katolícka Cirkev na Slovensku (in Slovak).
  8. 8."E' morto il cardinale Giovanni Coppa, diplomatico e grande latinista. Aveva 91 anni". Faro di Roma (in Italian). 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  9. 9.[9.2]"Rinunce e Nomine, 19.05.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 19 May 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  10. 10."Rinunce e Nomine, 25.11.2003" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 25 November 2003. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  11. 11."Rinunce e Nomine, 10.01.2004" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 10 January 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  12. 12."Rinunce e Nomine, 28.05.2011" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  13. 13."Rinunce e Nomine, 15.09.2011" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  14. 14.[14.2]"Rinunce e nomine, 21.09.2018" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  15. 15."Rinunce e nomine, 17.01.2022" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  16. 16."Rinunce e nomine, 01.05.2022" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  17. 17."Rinunce e nomine, 11.02.2026". Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  18. 18."Resignations and Appointments, 25.05.2026" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.