Last farewell to Cardinal Tomko: Archbishop Bezák has arrived! Emotional words, there was also a joke about death – Topky.sk

VIDEO Funeral Mass during the farewell to the late Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko in the Cathedral of St. Alžbety in Košice 15:40 At the time of the exhibition of the remains of the cardinal in the Cathedral of St. Around 10,000 people visited the Košice Cathedral from Sunday (August 14) to Tuesday. After they were transported from the Vatican on Thursday (11.8), they were displayed in the Cathedral of St. Martin in Bratislava. According to the Archdiocese of Košice, around 5,500 people attended the actual funeral in Košice in the interior of the cathedral and in the square in front of the Urban tower, where there was a large screen with a live broadcast of the ceremony. Among them are the highest constitutional officials of the Slovak Republic. 15:30 It was right that the funeral of the late Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomek had several stops. At Tuesday’s briefing after the funeral mass, the chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia (KBS) and the Archbishop of Bratislava, Metropolitan Stanislav Zvolenský, said this. “The cardinal always brought about unification with his thoughts and his way of behaving. I think we felt this unification both in Bratislava and here in Košice. He united society, believers and non-believers, and among the believers also various communities – Christian and non-Christian,” he said. According to him, unity is Tomek’s legacy for society. Photo gallery (17) Source: TASR / František Iván 14:30 Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽANO) and Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Boris Kollár (We are a family) thanked for a dignified farewell to the late Cardinal Tomko after the funeral in the cathedral. “He was a man of humanity, a man of faith who left us a very strong legacy of unification. I believe that he will sound very strong at this time,” Heger told reporters. According to Kollár, every Slovak had great respect for Cardinal Tomek. “He was our highest-ranking church official in the Vatican. He knew how to hold Slovakia, we could turn to him, he was faithful to Slovakia. God gave him enormous energy, a long life, creative, he was a wonderful person, and I think that with him Slovakia, the people and the church said a dignified farewell both in Bratislava and here in Košice,” he stated. Following the Prime Minister’s message of unification, Kollár pointed out the need for mutual communication between politicians. “We have to talk to each other and it doesn’t matter if they are liberals, conservatives or progressives or whoever, that’s important. Look at what’s happening in the world. If we could talk to each other better and understand each other, there would be no wars, to political rifts, governments wouldn’t end, coalitions wouldn’t break up. Maybe it’s enough just to talk to each other,” he said. Photo gallery (17) Source: TASR / František Iván 12:56 The cardinal’s funeral is at the end, an honor guard is already standing by his coffin. She will carry the coffin to the place from where the funeral service will take it to the crypt of the cathedral. 12:50 “With the departure of the cardinal, one stage of the life of the church is coming to an end,” said Košice Archbishop Bernard Bober in his condolence speech 12:42 “He lived a beautiful childhood and youth in the circle of his family. When his time came, he left. His work in a distant foreign country brought its own fruit and we, the natives, were proud of him. We were growing that our humble village gave the world such an important person,” said Peter Hudák, the mayor of Udavské village, where Tomko was born.

12:40 The emeritus archbishop of Košice Alojz Tkáč also came to the Cathedral, he was brought in a wheelchair. As he arrived, he waved to worshipers with a smile and joked: “Get ready for another funeral.” Tkáč is ten years younger than the late Cardinal Tomko, reports Korzár. 12:31 President Zuzana Čaputová has taken the floor and is reading her speech. She repeated that Slovakia is losing a great person who meant a lot to us with the death of the cardinal. “He earned the respect of several generations of his compatriots. He gladly and regularly returned to Udavský, which never ceased to be his home, he did not even forget the pleasant-sounding dialect of his natives.​​​​ John Paul II or Benedict XVI,” said Čaputová. “Your Eminence, thank you for everything you have done,” the president said goodbye to the cardinal. Photo gallery (17) Source: Reprofoto – TV Lux 12:29 All people, believers and non-believers, should take away from the funeral of Cardinal Jozef Tomek the hope with which he was engaged all his life in trying to improve the world around him. Anna Záborská, member of the Slovak National Council for OĽANO and government representative for the protection of freedom of religion or belief, told TASR TV. She recalled the pastoral activity of Tomko, who was prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Nations for sixteen years and headed the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Processes for several years. During this period he traveled to dozens of countries. “He saw a lot of misery, injustice, poverty. He wasn’t afraid to say it out loud. But it was always with a certain hope, he got involved because he knew it would bring about an improvement in the given situation,” she said. Photo gallery (17) Source: Topky – Vlado Anjel 12:20 p.m. After the funeral, the coffin containing the cardinal’s remains will be transferred to the crypt. But this act will be attended by the public. The casket will be carried to the place by an honor guard. Subsequently, the crypt will also be accessible to the public. The place where the cardinal will be buried will be decorated with a commemorative marble plaque, the Postoj portal reports. 11:45 a.m. “We say goodbye to the great son of Slovakia, the Easterner, Udavčan, who worked hard until the end of his life. That’s how he said goodbye to you during your last pilgrimage to Rome,” Cardinal Dominik Duka said at the beginning of his homily. 11:20 am Among the thirty bishops at the funeral is the former archbishop of the Trnava archdiocese Róbert Bezák and the emeritus Košice Greek Catholic eparchial bishop Milan Chautur. Photo gallery (17) Source: TASR / František Iván 11:13 All three top constitutional officials are present at the funeral – President Zuzana Čaputová, Speaker of the Parliament Boris Kollár (We are a family) and Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OĽaNO). Former Slovak presidents Andrej Kiska and Rudolf Schuster, Minister of Finance Igor Matovič (OĽaNO), Minister of Labor Milan Krajniak (We are a family), Minister of Health Vladimír Lengvarský (OĽaNO nominee), Gábor Grendel (OĽaNO) and Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) also came. Juraj Šeliga (For the People) and others. The Chairman of the Košice Region, Rastislav Trnka, and the Mayor of Košice, Jaroslav Polaček, are also present in the Cathedral. Photo gallery (17) Source: TASR / František Iván 11:05 a.m. The funeral mass is celebrated by Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus Dominik Duka from Prague. The concelebrants are the emeritus Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and the Ostrihom-Budapest Archbishop and Primate of Hungary, Cardinal Péter Erdő. The Holy Mass is in Latin and Slovak. Thousands of people attend the last farewell to the cardinal. There has never been a funeral of similar dimensions in Košice. The last funeral of a bishop in the Košice Cathedral was in 1962, when Jozef Čárské was buried there. 11:00 Cardinal Tomek’s funeral begins, the honor guard has already brought a wreath with ribbons in the colors of the Slovak flag. The cathedral is full of people, the square in front of the building is also full. VIDEO Last farewell to Cardinal Tomko: Košice is ready for mourners 10:35 a.m. The police are also warning the general public, who will be heading to the place of the last farewell, to respect the instructions of the organizers, as well as the policemen, who will guide them and direct them to the shortest route to St. Elizabeth, where the funeral services will take place. He reminds that the premises of the cathedral will be allocated as a priority for church dignitaries and delegations. He also appeals for increased caution in connection with potential pickpockets. Photo gallery (17) Source: TASR / František Iván 10:30 a.m. The police will not implement extraordinary traffic measures in connection with the last farewell to the late Cardinal Jozef Tomko in Košice. However, he warns that there will be increased traffic on the roads and queues may also form. This was stated by the Košice regional police spokesperson Lenka Ivanová. The city of Košice estimates that approximately 100 buses with pilgrims from all over Slovakia may arrive. According to updated information, buses will arrive at the bus station where they will drop people off. “The worshipers will move on foot through the City Park and Mlynská Street directly to St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral, which is a ten-minute walk over a distance of 750 meters. Volunteers will guide people from the moment they arrive at the bus station and direct them to the city center.” said Dušan Tokarčík, the spokesperson of the city, saying that all the buses that will bring the participants of the last farewell will be directed to the Košice football arena. For personal car transport, there is a temporary parking lot near the Steel Arena. “The believers are not far from there either, they have to walk 1,100 meters, which will take them approximately 14 minutes,” he added. 10:25 They were in front of the St. Cathedral early in the morning. Elizabeth the first people. On the square, the final adjustments and small shops were taking place. For those who cannot make it to the cathedral premises, a large-screen screen will be available to show footage of the funeral. The place will be guarded to a greater extent by the armed forces. Three flags hang in front of the Cathedral – the Slovak flag, the flag of the city of Košice and the flag of the Vatican. Photo gallery (17) Source: FB / Košice – City of Košice Photo gallery (17) Source: FB / Košice – City of Košice Photo gallery (17) Source: FB / Košice – City of Košice