Pilzen, Czech Republic

EUROPE

Fr. Petr Havlik
Author: Meghan Allen,  6 March 2022
 
What does the once-vibrant Church of a former Soviet bloc country look like today? Fr. Petr Havlik sketches an unsettling picture of a Church that endured a decades-long repression of the former Czechoslovakian communist regime, now the Czech Republic. The once-76-percent Catholic population (in 1950) of former Czechoslovakia today is a meager 10 percent, a soberly heart-breaking statistic when you consider that 44 percent of the Czech population asserts it has no faith at all.

The 33-year-old doctoral student at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross recalls the countless testimonies of priests who offered Mass in secret during these years of Christian persecution… During the day, some were window-washers , others disguised themselves as married men. This is the world into which Fr. Petr was born. His own grandfather had been imprisoned for being discovered as a practicing Catholic, but this did not keep him from exemplifying Catholic values and raising his family with a deep faith in Jesus. During a time when taking part in any of the sacraments was illegal, Petr was baptized in secret in the city of Pilsen—just 50 miles from Prague, the hub of the nation’s communist rule. But in 1989, when Petr was just two years old, the Velvet Revolution swept through the country, forcing the regime to cede control and Catholics—for the first time in more than 40 years—were allowed to publicly practice their faith.


As a teenager, Petr knew for certain that he was called to the priesthood—to be a part of that revitalization and reconstruction of the church in the Czech Republic that had only just begun. Though he’d spent years serving as an altar boy and admiring visiting deacons and local priests, it wasn’t until his walk along the Camino de Santiago that it all coalesced. “During that walk, I knew that God was asking something more of me,” Fr. Petr recalls fondly, betraying a reserved smile on his face. His previous plans to become a lawyer like his faithful grandfather before him were officially thrown out. He realized that the way he wanted to serve his neighbors was through the faith—not through legal counsel.

His decision to become a priest has brought him to the very heart of the Church, the very Church that, at the time of his birth, was functioning completely underground. While he is now in Rome writing his doctoral dissertation on the fourth century Church Father, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Fr. Petr was the pastor of two parishes for three years, following his ordination. Young and old, newly married couples, Christian and non-Christian teenagers alike, Fr. Petr not only shook hands with them all as their local priest, but he involved them in programs to help them grow in their faith at their own pace, in their own way. He credits St. Gregory of Nyssa with having taught him the importance of speaking plainly and openly with people—despite what faith they may or may not practice.

Serving people and inspiring others to serve their neighbors is a top priority for Fr. Petr, as it shows that Catholics are not partial in who they serve and who they welcome in their church pews on Sundays. The children of one of his youth programs—designed for teens to visit the elderly in local nursing homes and retirement communities—began to invite their non-Christian friends to join them. One by one, he watched the numbers grow by sheer, organic word of mouth. Pilgrimages only brought them all closer to their own faith and one another. They learned that the best way to bring others to the faith is not to tell them, but to show them. Then, to answer all their most difficult, nagging questions on the faith and personal struggles, Fr. Petr held get-togethers and talks that fostered open dialogue between them all. No stone was left unturned, no topic avoided.

Many Catholic parishes will offer counseling for engaged couples, but for Fr. Petr, it was clear that couples don’t suddenly “have it all figured out” when they take their vows—actually, that’s only the beginning of a very long life-journey together. So, he began to offer family counseling and ongoing couples’ formation to his parishioners. Whether newly married couples or families with kids, Fr. Petr gave each of them tools to nurture their relationships. After such successful years serving these two apostolates, Fr. Petr is looking forward to his next opportunity to serve people in another young, developing parish.

His years in Rome have expanded his horizons of what it means to be a priest. Fr. Petr has every intention of compiling all that he’s learned in Rome and using it as a sort of “pastoral handbook” in returning to serve as pastor of a parish. He recounts how the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, in particular, taught him how to write homilies, how to better listen and give sound counsel in the context of confession and everyday life, and how to accompany others on their spiritual journeys. In a word, the school taught him how to be a “people’s priest,” something he very much looks forward to putting it into practice in his next apostolate. From his secret baptism to now bringing the faith to as many people as he can possibly reach, we hope for continued prayers for this man, wherever the Lord calls him.