Dominik Duka OP is the Archbishop of Prague and a cardinal, who celebrated his first Mass in his new rank in 2012 and received the Order of the White Lion, First Class, in 2016.
Dominik Duka OP is the Archbishop of Prague and a cardinal. The website cirkev.cz recorded two events of his career as a cardinal: the first solemn Mass after his appointment as cardinal in 2012 and a state decoration from 2016. [1][2]
The first Mass as a cardinal
On the occasion of his appointment as cardinal, Duka presided over a solemn Mass in the Prague cathedral. It took place on Saturday 25 February 2012, and Duka dedicated it to the Church at home and abroad and to Pope Benedict XVI. The liturgy was celebrated with him by the apostolic nuncio Giuseppe Leanza, bishops from Bohemia and Moravia and numerous priests. The opening greeting was delivered by the emeritus Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk. [1]
Political representatives were also present: the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miroslava Němcová, Deputy Prime Minister Karolina Peake and Minister of Defence Alexandr Vondra, as well as representatives of the Office of the President, diplomats and representatives of other Christian churches. Music by Pololáník and by the composers Strejc, Kšica, Křička, Olejník and Dvořák was performed. Choirs from Brno, Mikulov, Česká Lípa and Liberec, Hradec Králové and Prague sang, the Filharmonie Hradec Králové played, and Josef Kšica, the regens chori of St Vitus Cathedral, sat at the organ. [1]
The sermon
In his homily Duka thanked Benedict XVI for conferring the rank of cardinal. In his view, the appointment is a joyful and binding moment of his life and concerns the whole ecclesiastical province, the state and society as well. He said that he wants to lead the diocese so that the Church acts both inwardly and outwardly, and he expressed this decision with a gift to the Pope: a modernly crafted Infant Jesus of Prague made of Czech glass. The second great task, in his words, is the new evangelisation, which is not new in substance but in approach. [1]
He also recalled that 25 February is the anniversary of the rise of the totalitarian regime, which attacked the whole of society and the Gospel. He closed the sermon with a wish to help bridge disputes and to contribute to expert solutions of serious social tasks, pointing to the cathedral, the university and the bridge as great Christian signs that an earlier age left in Prague. [1]
Order of the White Lion
On 28 October 2016 the President of the Republic Miloš Zeman awarded Duka the Order of the White Lion, First Class, the highest state decoration. The cardinal received it at a solemn ceremony in Vladislav Hall; the award concerned exceptional merits for the Czech Republic. In his speech Zeman said that all of this year's recipients are united by the roots of society, and he called Christianity the deepest and longest tradition, both European and Czech. He reportedly wanted to follow his predecessors, who had decorated Czech cardinals, and expressed a wish that the Church cooperate closely with the state. [2]
On the social network Twitter Duka wrote that the decoration is a great honour not only for him but also a recognition of the whole Church, which after years of totalitarianism found its place in a free society. He was congratulated, among others, by the Archdiocese of Prague. [2]