Church regains control of Cathedral of St. Vito in the Czech Republic

Rome, Italy, Jun 20, 2006 / 22:00 pm

A district court in Prague has returned the Cathedral of St. Vito to the Catholic Church, ending government control of the centuries-old symbol of Czech Catholicism that began in 1954 when the Communist regime seized the property.

The court’s decision has not yet taken effect as the ruling has been appealed before the Czech government.  However, the Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling.  He recalled that the Church was always considered the owner of the Cathedral, “until its illegal appropriation by the Communist regime.”

Construction of the Cathedral of St. Vito began in 1344 and was never fully finished until 1929.