Dominik Trčka

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Dominik Trčka (6 July 1886 – 23 March 1959), also known by his religious name Metod, was a Czech priest of the Redemptorists. He did parish missions and also served Greek Catholics and Eastern Rite Christians, helping those who were often neglected. He helped establish a convent for Eastern Rite Redemptorists in Michalovce. During World War I he tended to Slovenian and Croatian wounded at a hospital in Pribram. In 1935 he became vice-provincial of the Byzantine Redemptorists. After the Communist takeover, he was arrested on Holy Thursday, 13 April 1950, and sentenced to 12 years in prison; he endured torture during imprisonment. He died in Leopoldov Prison on 23 March 1959 from pneumonia after solitary confinement for singing Christmas carols. His remains were buried in the prison, then moved to the Redemptorist vault in Michalovce in 1969. The cause for his sainthood began in Prešov, and he was beatified on 4 November 2001 in Saint Peter’s Square by Pope John Paul II, recognized as a martyr. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church and in Byzantine Catholic Churches.