March 6 (CTK) – The remains of exiled Czech Cardinal Josef Beran, who was buried in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in 1969, will be transported to Prague by plane on April 20 and buried in St Vitus’ Cathedral at Prague Castle on April 23, Prague Archbishopric spokesman Stanislav Zeman told CTK on Tuesday.
Beran’s remains will be taken from the Papal Basilica on April 19 and taken to the Czech Papal College Nepomucenum in the Vatican where a ceremonial event will be held in the evening. Beran lived in the Nepomucenum during his involuntary exile from February 19, 1965 until his death on May 17, 1969.
A commemorative plaque will remember the late cardinal in the Vatican.
From April 21 to April 23, the coffin with the remains will be put on display in St Vitus’ Cathedral in Prague. It will be placed in a new tomb in the St Agnes of Bohemia Chapel of the cathedral within a religious service starting at 18:00, April 23.
Pope Francis gave consent to the transport of the remains in January in harmony with Beran’s last will.
Beran was buried in the Vatican because the Czechoslovak communist authorities did not approve the return of his body to his homeland. He is the only Czech buried in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica.
The process of Beran’s beatification began in 1998. Cardinal Dominik Duka, the Prague Archbishop, said it was not apparent how long this process might last.
