First Chapel of Bd. John Paul II in the Czech Republic

On Sunday 1, 2011 just a few hours after Benedict XVI. had beatified his predecessor John Paul II, a chapel was consecrated to the new blessed. The chapel of St. John Nepomucene Neumann’s Hospice in Prachatice was consecrated to the Polish Pope by the bishop of Budweis (České Budějovice), Msgr. Jiří Paďour OFMCap.

Prachatice: “It is almost certain that the oldest chapel of Bd. John Paul II. can be found in Prachatice since May 1. It may well be the oldest one in the world, too, although I presume our Polish brothers have made effort to be faster. Who knows. Be it as it may, the great Pope of the millenium break has a place consecrated to him in the vicinity of Šumava mountains in South Bohemia since May 1,” says the director of St. John Nepomucene Neumann Hospice, Robert Huneš.

The Hospice is situated in the native house of a different saint – John Nepomucene Neumann. Why exactly should there be a chapel consecrated to Bd. John Paul II? “The answer is simple. There already is a chapel consecrated to John Nepomucene Neumann in his native house, it is actually in the room he was born in. This chapel is however in the other part of the house which is used by the Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo as their monastery,” explains Robert Huneš. He adds that the consecration of the new chapel for the Hospice patients to Bd. John Paul II is no coincidence. “This Pope had shown us by his exemplary life how to bear the suffering of a grave disease bravely, humbly and with hope and trust in the Almighty, till the end of one’s carnal life. By the way, John Paul II was ordained priest on 1^st November which is also the day John Nepomucene Neumann’s Hospice in Prachatice was first opened to its patients,” concludes Robert Huneš.