Monsignor Bernard Bober (born 3 November 1950) is a Slovak Roman Catholic prelate. He is the Archbishop of Archdiocese of Košice, chair of the Conference of Slovak Bishops and Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University in Ružomberok.
Biography
Bernard Bober was born on 3 November 1950 in the village of Zbudské Dlhé in Czechoslovakia.[1] He was ordained priest on 8 June 1974 in the St Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava. Following his ordination, he served as a chaplain in the towns of Humenné, Snina and Zborov. From 1978 to 1990 he was the parish priest in the village of Kecerovce. In 1991 he was named the vicar general of the Diocese of Košice.[2]
On 29 December 1992 Bober was named Auxiliary Bishop of Košice and Titular Bishop of Vissalsa by the Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated on 30 January 1993 at the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth in Košice by the Cardinal Jozef Tomko and co-consecrated by the Bishop of Košice Alojz Tkáč and Archbishop of Trnava Ján Sokol.[2][3] On 4 June 2010, he succeeded Tkáč as the head of the Archdiocese of Košice.[4]
On 10 October 2022, Bober replaced Archbishop of Bratislava Stanislav Zvolenský as the head of the Conference of Slovak Bishops.[5]
In addition to Church offices, Bober also serves as the Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University in Ružomberok.[6]
In 2025, Bober claimed that there is a lack of objective evaluation of the role of the fascist World War II era leader Jozef Tiso. His claim was widely criticized by Slovak historians.[7]
In November 2025 at the request of Pope Leo XIV, the Portuguese priest and DJ Padre Guilherme played a live set outside the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth to mark Bober's 75th birthday.[8]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byAlojz Tkáč | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Košice 2010–present | Succeeded by– |
| Preceded byAlojzy Orszulik | Roman Catholic Titular See of Vissalsa 1992–2010 | Succeeded byNeal Buckon |
References
- 1."Mons. Bernard Bober" (in Slovak). Zbudské Dlhé. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- 2.[2.2]"Mons. Bernard Bober, košický arcibiskup-metropolita - Košická arcidiecéza". www.ke-arcidieceza.sk. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- 3."V Košiciach si pripomenuli 30. výročie biskupskej vysviacky Bernarda Bobera". kosice.korzar.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- 4."Slávnostná inaugurácia arcibiskupa Bernarda Bobera". Mesto Košice. 10 July 2010.
- 5."KBS povedie najbližšie štyri roky košický arcibiskup Bernard Bober". www.tkkbs.sk.
- 6."Veľký kancelár KU Mons. Bernard Bober sa dnes dožíva životného jubilea" (in Slovak). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- 7.Hanák, Peter (16 May 2025). "Historici reagujú na arcibiskupa Bobera: Relativizuje slovenský štát a Tisa, riedi pravdu (podcast)". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- 8.Richardson, Jacques (21 November 2025). "Pope makes unexpected appearance at priest DJ's cathedral rave" – via Classic FM.