Rome, Italy, Oct 24, 2025 / 10:44 am

Cardinal Ján Korec, a Jesuit and secret bishop during the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, died 10 years ago on Oct. 24, 2015. He was 91. Even nonbelievers have recognized his life as a heroic testimony of faith.

Born in democratic Czechoslovakia in 1924, Korec witnessed the imposition of communism in 1948. He joined the Society of Jesus and was ordained a priest. In 1951, at age 27, he was secretly consecrated a bishop — making him, for a time, the youngest bishop. Later in his life, he would become the oldest serving bishop in the world.

Under communism, the regime worked to suppress the traditionally strong Catholic Church in the country systematically. Bishops were imprisoned or silenced, many priests jailed, religious orders dissolved, and Ch

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