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The first Czech to be appointed a bishop, he was born in a noble Bohemian family. He was one of the most educated people of his day. His orientation was towards Latin, but he also supported the liturgy in Old Church Slavonic. In 993 he founded the first monastery for a male order in the Czech lands – the Benedictine monastery in Břevnov, with the first monks coming from Monte Cassino in Italy. In spite of various dangers he undertook pastoral journeys to Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Everywhere he converted large numbers of people to the faith. He also baptised the future St. Stephen, King of Hungary. He was martyred while on a missionary journey among the heathen Prussians. His body was ransomed by the Polish king Boleslav the Brave for its weight in gold. It now reposes in Prague Cathedral. From the time he became a bishop he never smiled again. When he was asked why, he replied, "It is easy to carry the bishop's staff, but it is terrible to have one day to give account of one's office as bishop before the supreme judge of the living and the dead". His legacy: Let us pray that we, too, may be capable of proclaiming the good news of the Gospel, just as St. Vojtěch did. |
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