S. AGNES DE BOHEMIA
2019
Czech gift
for Pope.
2019. From Prague to Rome again!
2019
30 years after Velvet Revolution.
![S. Peter]( "S. Peter statue in Rome, Vatican")
30 years after Velvet Revolution.
30 years since the canonization of St. Agnes of Bohemia
Thousands of Czechs are going to head to Rome again, Pope Francis will receive a great gift from them
Only five days before the beginning of Velvet Revolution, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Agnes of Bohemia in Rome. This November, exactly 30 years after the event, believers from all over the country are preparing for pilgrimage to Rome. They will pass on a great national gift to Pope Francis - a statue of the crown of St. Agnes from the academic sculptor Daniel Ignác Trubač, accompanied by ribbons with fingerprints of all Czechs who will contribute to the gift. Fingerprints that do not fit on ribbons will be collected on special sheets of handmade paper that will accompany the statue to Rome. Everyone will be able to give his personal gift to the Pope.
“The canonization of Saint Agnes brought great hope, which was fulfilled by regaining freedom in a few days. Today, after three decades, hope in many spheres of society is somewhat diminishing. We would like to restore it with the pilgrimage. To build on the great national spiritual renewal thirty years ago, ”explains Jan Vokál, bishop of Hradec Králové, who presides over the preparatory committee of the pilgrimage.
Not only the statue will be paid from the nationwide collection, but the money will be donated to the Pope for the poor. Each donor will receive a commemorative medal from the Prague mint. The first specimen was minted on Saturday, May 25, at the Prague Mint branch in Vsetín by Apostolic Nuncio Mons. Charles D. Balvo. He also personally thanks each donor on the cover of the medal. All contributors will receive confirmation that they have participated in the donation for the Pope.
The collection will be held by individual parishes from June to the end of summer holidays. "Recommended amount is 200 Czech Crown, but lower and a higher contribution is also possible," says one of the organizers Pavel P. Dokládal.
The pilgrimage to Rome will take place from 11 to 13 November 2019, followed by a solemn service in St. Vitus Cathedral on Saturday, November 16.
Up to 10,000 Czechs, whom authorities allowed the trip to Italy, contrary to existing practice, participated the canonization of Agnes of Bohemia on November 12, 1989 in Rome. The pilgrims were led by Cardinal František Tomášek and the service was broadcasted by Czechoslovak Television. The canonization of Agnes was subsequently considered as a herald to the November events.
Only five days before the beginning of Velvet Revolution, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Agnes of Bohemia in Rome. This November, exactly 30 years after the event, believers from all over the country are preparing for pilgrimage to Rome. They will pass on a great national gift to Pope Francis - a statue of the crown of St. Agnes from the academic sculptor Daniel Ignác Trubač, accompanied by ribbons with fingerprints of all Czechs who will contribute to the gift. Fingerprints that do not fit on ribbons will be collected on special sheets of handmade paper that will accompany the statue to Rome. Everyone will be able to give his personal gift to the Pope.
“The canonization of Saint Agnes brought great hope, which was fulfilled by regaining freedom in a few days. Today, after three decades, hope in many spheres of society is somewhat diminishing. We would like to restore it with the pilgrimage. To build on the great national spiritual renewal thirty years ago, ”explains Jan Vokál, bishop of Hradec Králové, who presides over the preparatory committee of the pilgrimage.
Not only the statue will be paid from the nationwide collection, but the money will be donated to the Pope for the poor. Each donor will receive a commemorative medal from the Prague mint. The first specimen was minted on Saturday, May 25, at the Prague Mint branch in Vsetín by Apostolic Nuncio Mons. Charles D. Balvo. He also personally thanks each donor on the cover of the medal. All contributors will receive confirmation that they have participated in the donation for the Pope.
The collection will be held by individual parishes from June to the end of summer holidays. "Recommended amount is 200 Czech Crown, but lower and a higher contribution is also possible," says one of the organizers Pavel P. Dokládal.
The pilgrimage to Rome will take place from 11 to 13 November 2019, followed by a solemn service in St. Vitus Cathedral on Saturday, November 16.
Up to 10,000 Czechs, whom authorities allowed the trip to Italy, contrary to existing practice, participated the canonization of Agnes of Bohemia on November 12, 1989 in Rome. The pilgrims were led by Cardinal František Tomášek and the service was broadcasted by Czechoslovak Television. The canonization of Agnes was subsequently considered as a herald to the November events.
DANIEL TRUBAČ STATUE
This work, the crown of the Czech royal family, will be decorated with ribbons with thanks and prayers to the Czech princess, St. Agnes. One of the ribbons will bear the initial celebratory Seifert essay on our princess Agnes. It will be cast from bronze using the lost wax method. It will be placed on a large pedestal which will be high enough, so the pilgrim who looks up to her heavenly crown also has to raise his eyes to the crown rightfully belonging to her, the Přemyslid one, and also the heavenly one. The total height of the work will be 230 centimeters. The pedestal will be cast by the same method and from the same material, bronze, and will carry on its ribbons the fingerprints of all the donors who will contribute financially to this gift for the Holy Father Francis.
At the same time, each donor prints his index finger into the replication material from which the pedestal coat will be ready for casting. This act of imprinting of the index finger is an act of solidarity with the nation and knowing that the imprint of the own finger, de facto the own DNA, will be on the gift that Pope Francis will assume and will certainly find a place for its location in the premises of St. Peter's Basilica or another premises according to his discretion. At the same time, each donor will receive a commemorative medal made by a prestigious mint, the Prague Mint.
This work, the crown of the Czech royal family, will be decorated with ribbons with thanks and prayers to the Czech princess, St. Agnes. One of the ribbons will bear the initial celebratory Seifert essay on our princess Agnes. It will be cast from bronze using the lost wax method. It will be placed on a large pedestal which will be high enough, so the pilgrim who looks up to her heavenly crown also has to raise his eyes to the crown rightfully belonging to her, the Přemyslid one, and also the heavenly one. The total height of the work will be 230 centimeters. The pedestal will be cast by the same method and from the same material, bronze, and will carry on its ribbons the fingerprints of all the donors who will contribute financially to this gift for the Holy Father Francis.
At the same time, each donor prints his index finger into the replication material from which the pedestal coat will be ready for casting. This act of imprinting of the index finger is an act of solidarity with the nation and knowing that the imprint of the own finger, de facto the own DNA, will be on the gift that Pope Francis will assume and will certainly find a place for its location in the premises of St. Peter's Basilica or another premises according to his discretion. At the same time, each donor will receive a commemorative medal made by a prestigious mint, the Prague Mint.
MEDAL
This official medal was issued to commemorate St. Agnes of Bohemia, whose models were blessed by the Bishop of Hradec Králové, Jan Vokál, and the first medal was minted by the Apostolic Nuncio in the Czech Republic, His Excellency Mons. Charles Daniel Balvo. Each donor will receive a commemorative medal made by minting from hand polished dies at the Prague Mint a.s. The author of the medal, academic sculptor Daniel Ignác Trubač says about his work on the medal:
When the image blends with the poem. I am referring to the Jaroslav Seifert’s verses about St. Agnes "Even today, at the monastery's premises, sometimes it seems to me ..." and the statue of St. Agnes by Josef Václav Myslbek standing on Wenceslas Square in Prague and in the premises of the St. Agnes Convent, which was a source of inspiration for me.
The medal is an image converted into relief. This image allows us to look into eternity because it is directed toward the Lord and the Savior. The statue of St. Agnes of master Myslbek I had been wearing in my heart for a long time because her life was clean and noble.
Her eyes are packed with the morning sun of prayer, a kindness that clings to her lips.
Jan Werich mentioned in one of his tales that the hardest activity in the world is to turn words into action, and that is what St. Agnes managed. Her work is highly visible part of our history.
I studied in Prague at the Academy of Fine Arts where Myslbek's sculptures were created. When creating this medal I was inspired by the statue of St. Agnes from this great master of the art of Czech and world sculpture. When Myslbek modeled the statue, he always made a figure without a dress and followed the ideal proportions of ancient sculptures. Drapery – dress was added later. The antiquity has created a picture of a perfect man, but thanks to the polytheism his destiny has always ended in a tragedy - hopeless. Christianity offered free space and a way out for man's fullness of life.
My idea was to create a portrait of a female princess immersed in prayer. Her eyes are flooded with the morning sun, because her prayer then began. One hand that we see depicts the devotion of her whole body and the soul to Christ. A hand is a visible sign of help. A hand helps change words and thoughts into action. She helped sick and abandoned, and she was interested in those people that no one was interested in, as well as the current Pope Francis. A good deed for others was her program. For me, st. Agnes is a great model of a hearty human.
Press Contact: Pavel Sršeň, spokesperson of the Bishopric of Hradec Králové srsen@bihk.cz; +420 733 616 459
This official medal was issued to commemorate St. Agnes of Bohemia, whose models were blessed by the Bishop of Hradec Králové, Jan Vokál, and the first medal was minted by the Apostolic Nuncio in the Czech Republic, His Excellency Mons. Charles Daniel Balvo. Each donor will receive a commemorative medal made by minting from hand polished dies at the Prague Mint a.s. The author of the medal, academic sculptor Daniel Ignác Trubač says about his work on the medal:
When the image blends with the poem. I am referring to the Jaroslav Seifert’s verses about St. Agnes "Even today, at the monastery's premises, sometimes it seems to me ..." and the statue of St. Agnes by Josef Václav Myslbek standing on Wenceslas Square in Prague and in the premises of the St. Agnes Convent, which was a source of inspiration for me.
The medal is an image converted into relief. This image allows us to look into eternity because it is directed toward the Lord and the Savior. The statue of St. Agnes of master Myslbek I had been wearing in my heart for a long time because her life was clean and noble.
Her eyes are packed with the morning sun of prayer, a kindness that clings to her lips.
Jan Werich mentioned in one of his tales that the hardest activity in the world is to turn words into action, and that is what St. Agnes managed. Her work is highly visible part of our history.
I studied in Prague at the Academy of Fine Arts where Myslbek's sculptures were created. When creating this medal I was inspired by the statue of St. Agnes from this great master of the art of Czech and world sculpture. When Myslbek modeled the statue, he always made a figure without a dress and followed the ideal proportions of ancient sculptures. Drapery – dress was added later. The antiquity has created a picture of a perfect man, but thanks to the polytheism his destiny has always ended in a tragedy - hopeless. Christianity offered free space and a way out for man's fullness of life.
My idea was to create a portrait of a female princess immersed in prayer. Her eyes are flooded with the morning sun, because her prayer then began. One hand that we see depicts the devotion of her whole body and the soul to Christ. A hand is a visible sign of help. A hand helps change words and thoughts into action. She helped sick and abandoned, and she was interested in those people that no one was interested in, as well as the current Pope Francis. A good deed for others was her program. For me, st. Agnes is a great model of a hearty human.
Press Contact: Pavel Sršeň, spokesperson of the Bishopric of Hradec Králové srsen@bihk.cz; +420 733 616 459
