Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec passes away at 91

Bishop Emeritus of Nitra and Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec passed away in Nitra at 1.30 p.m. on Saturday at the age of 91. Korec was the first representative of the Slovak ecclesiastical province that had the honour, thanks to his personal qualities, to become a member of the College of Cardinals. Korec was consecrated as a priest in secrecy in 1950. One year later, he was secretly consecrated as a bishop. He had a blue-collar job until 1960 but continued to carry out his religious duties on the quiet. The communist regime later sentenced him to 12 years in prison for treason because of his religious activities. Following his release he worked as a lift repairman. After the Velvet Revolution, which brought the downfall of the communist regime in 1989, he became rector of the Priests Seminary in Bratislava. He was appointed the bishop of Nitra diocese by Pope John Paul II in 1990, shortly after the revolution. Korec was appointed cardinal by the same Pope in 1991. He was the head of the Nitra diocese until 2005. As Bishop Emeritus, Korec lived in Nitra until his death.