Maltézsky rád na pohrebe Jána Chryzostoma kardinála Korca v Nitre
The funeral of late Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec took place in Nitra on October 31, 2015. Cardinal Korec died a week before the funeral on October 24. He was buried, as he wished, in the lower nave of St. Emeram´s Cathedral in Nitra. Funeral service was presided over by the Archbishop of Krakow Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz. The Last Farewell to this big defender of Faith, Fatherland and Human Beings, as Cardinal was called during his life, came to express, among others, Cardinal´s family and friends, his relatives, churchmen along with The President of Malteser Aid Slovakia Július Brichta and The Secretary of the Sovereign Order of Malta´s Embassy in Slovakia Dominik Brichta. High ranking officials were present as well: The President of the Slovak Republic Andrej Kiska, The Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Róbert Fico and The Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini.
Dominik Brichta, Secretary of the Sovereign Order of Malta´s Embassy in Slovakia, put funeral bouquet at Cardinal´s hearse on behalf of the Chargé d´Affaires of Order of Malta in Slovakia Anton Gatnar.
The Funeral Mass was concelebrated by Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Archbishop Emeritus of Cologne Joachim Meisner, Apostolic Nuncio to Slovakia Mario Giordana, Archbishop of Bratislava and the president of the Slovak Conference of Catholic Bishops Stanislav Zvolenský and the Bishop Viliam Judák of Nitra.
Many prominent speakers delivered their remembrance speeches. Archbishop Zvolenský read the condolence telegram message from Pope Francis and Provincial of the Society of Jesus read the condolence message from Adolfo Nicolas, who is the Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Other speakers who delivered speeches were Prime Minister Róbert Fico, Major of Nitra Jozef Dvonč and Milan Krivda, Bishop of the Western District, on behalf of the Bishop General of The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia. At the end, the farewell poem was delivered by poet Teodor Križka.
Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec, Bishop Emeritus of Nitra (Slovak Republic), was born on January 22, 1924 at Bošany in the diocese of Nitra. He entered the Society of Jesus on September 15, 1939 and had to interrupt his philosophy studies in 1950, following the suppression of the Order in Czechoslovakia. He was ordained as a priest on October 1, 1950 at the age of 26, and on August 24, 1951 at age 27, he clandestinely received episcopal ordination by Bishop Pavel Hnilica.
Working in a factory for nine consecutive years, he carried on his priestly mission and that of bishop without being discovered by anyone. He was a brother to all. Arrested in 1960, he continued to be a friend of all in prison, and for twelve years he celebrated Mass every day. Those who prayed with him were mainly young prisoners.
While interned at Valdice (Northern Bohemia), Korec repeatedly asked for rehabilitation. Rehabilitated in 1968, following the general amnesty, Ján Korec left the prison seriously ill. In 1969, during a new trial, the judge rehabilitated Bishop Korec, but in 1974 his rehabilitation was annulled. Bishop Korec was again imprisoned to finish off the four years remaining of the earlier sentence.
On February 6, 1990, the Holy Father appointed Ján Korec to be a Bishop of Nitra. Then, he was created and proclaimed as a Cardinal by St. John Paul II in the Consistory held on June 28, 1991, of the Title of Ss. Fabiano e Venanzio a Villa Fiorelli (Sts. Fabian and Venantius at Villa Fiorelli). He was in charge of the Diocese of Nitra until the year 2005. After, he stayed in Nitra till his death.
His is the author of over 60 volumes of books predominantly written on the topics of society and spirituality.
