Saints celebrated on the 23rd of July
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
BL. BASIL HOPKO, BISHOP
Blessed Basil Hopko was born on April 21, 1904 in Hrabske, Hungary (present-day eastern Slovakia). His parents, Basil and Anna were landless peasants. While Bl. Basil was still an infant, his father was struck by lightning and died. His mother left him in care of her father, while she emigrated to the United States in search of work. When Bl. Basil was seven years old, he was sent to live with his uncle Demeter Petrenko, a Greek Catholic priest.
A SIGN ABOUT HIS CALLING
Bl. Basil studied at the Seminary in Presov. He had dreams of joining his mother in America, and of pursuing his priestly vocation there, but the cost of recurring health problems left him unable to afford to travel. He later wrote that when he finally decided to stay and to serve in his homeland, he was suddenly cured, and realised he had been given a sign about his calling. He was ordained a Greek Catholic priest on February 3, 1929.
A PASTOR FOR THE POOR AND UNEMPLOYED
He served as a pastor (1929-1936) at the Greek Catholic parish in Prague, the Czechoslovak capital, where he was known for his focus on the poor, the unemployed, and students.
His mother returned from America after 22 years and rejoined her son in Prague, becoming his housekeeper at the parish rectory.
HE EDITED A MONTHLY PERIODICAL
In 1936 he returned to teach in Presov's Eparchial Seminary, and was awarded the title of monsignor. He had already begun graduate studies at Charles University while in Prague, and he completed his Doctor of Theology in 1940 at Comenius University in Bratislava. In Presov he headed the eparchy's publishing division, where he edited a monthly periodical.
After World War II, a growing Soviet Communist influence caused Bishop Pavol Peter Gojdic of Presov to ask the Holy See for an Auxiliary Bishop to help defend the Greek Catholic Church.
HE WAS ARRESTED BY THE COMMUNISTS
Bl. Basil was appointed to the post on May 11, 1947. The Communist take-over of Czechoslovakia wrought havoc on the Greek Catholic Church. In 1950 it was officially abolished by the state as a religious organisation, and its assets were turned over to the Russian Orthodox Church. Bishop Gojdic was arrested and was imprisoned for life.
STARVATION RATIONS AND TORTURE
Bishop Hopko was arrested on April 28, 1950 and kept on starvation rations and tortured for weeks. Eventually he was tried and sentenced to 15 years for the "subversive activity" of staying loyal to Rome.
HIS HEALTH FAILED
He was repeatedly transferred from prison to prison. His health, physical and emotional, failed, and in 1964 he was transferred to a home for the aged. He never recovered his health.
HE WAS LEGALLY CLEARED
During the Prague Spring the Czechoslovak government legally cleared Bl. Basil on June 13, 1968 and the Presov Eparchy was restored. However, activists insisted that a Slovak bishop be appointed to the see, and the Holy See named the Slovak priest Jan Hirka as his successor.
Bl. Basil died in Presov at age 72 on July 23, 1976. On September 14, 2003 Pope John Paul II beatified him at a ceremony in Bratislava, Slovakia.
(Information from Wikipedia -
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Hopko)
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