![]() As if coming out of the shadows of its cathedrals, the Catholic Church came alive in the humanity and vulnerability of Father Malý. I knew of the church from textbooks that passed through the government censorship and presented a very biased interpretation of history.įather Malý’s church also felt different from the artistic and architectural wonders of silent, empty buildings that I somehow knew I belonged to, but whose mystery was far beyond my reach. The Catholic Church that Father Malý represented was very different from the church that I knew. That cold and snowy day marked for many their first encounter with public worship, spirituality and prayer. The police could have arrested the priest at any moment for public preaching, but he remained calm.Īfter two generations of religious suppression and intense Communist indoctrination, few people could recite the prayer by heart. But everyone understood it was a solemn moment.įather Malý, a Czech priest who had been previously imprisoned and persecuted, led peaceful meetings in Prague with Václav Havel and other prominent dissidents of the underground anti-Communist movement. Václav Malý started praying the Our Father, it grew quiet.Īfter two generations of religious suppression and intense Communist indoctrination, few people could recite the prayer by heart. The crowd of almost 500,000 people chanted and cheered while the dissidents spoke. It was in November 1989 during the Velvet Revolution, which brought freedom to Communist Czechoslovakia. I was 17 years old when I heard the Lord’s Prayer spoken in public for the first time.
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