Člověk musí hořeti – Palán Aleš (2024)

A book interview with the abbot of the Želiv Monastery, Bohumil Vít Tajovský (1912–1999), maps his entire life: childhood in the Havlíčkův Brod region, seminary studies, entry into the Premonstratensians, life in the Želiv Monastery during the First Republic, the war years, a teaching career at the Humpolec gymnasium, election as abbot, arrest (due to the so-called Číhošť miracle) and the first ecclesiastical show trial, years spent in communist prisons, work as a forest worker and stoker, secret abbatial activities, the fall of communism, and the return of the monastic community to the Želiv Monastery. Abbot Tajovský's life path reflects the dramatic events that Czech society went through during the 20th century. In his memories, Tajovský also captures a number of personalities he met – whether it was Jakub Deml, Josef Florian, Jan Zábrana, Josef Beran, Jan Masaryk, Dominik Pecka, Josef Toufar, Jan Zahradníček, Bohuslav Reynek, Suzanne Renaud, Jan Zrzavý, Anastáz Opasek, Josef Zvěřina, Václav Renč, Pavel Tigrid, or Václav Havel, as well as Gustáv Husák. His memories provide valuable testimonies and warnings for future generations. When a journalist asked him after the fall of communism whether he had forgiven his tormentors from the 1950s, he replied: "I have completely forgiven everyone.…