In Číhošt in the Havlíčkobrod region, despite the freezing weather, more than a hundred pilgrims commemorated the anniversary of the death of the local parish priest Josef Toufar, who was accused by state security of staging the so-called Čihošt miracle with the moving cross. He died as a result of torture on February 25, 1950. The memorial mass was celebrated by the abbot of the Marian monastery in Novorossiysk, Rudolf Kosík. The picture shows the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Čihošť.
Číhošť (Havlíčkobrod Region) – On Sunday, people in Číhošt in Havlíčkobrod Region will remember 73 years since the death of priest Josef Toufar (1902 to 1950), who died as a result of torture by members of the communist State Security (StB). They tried to force him to confess that he staged the movement of the cross in the Čihošť church. Mass in this Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary will begin one hour before noon, followed by a meeting at the inn. The guest will be the evangelical clergyman Miloš Rejchrt, a dissident and spokesman for Charter 77. The parish announced this on the website.
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Photogallery: The Miracle of Číhošť
“Číhošť has become a spontaneous place of pilgrimage, where thousands of people go every year,” Tomáš Petráček, postulator of the beatification process of Josef Toufar, told ČTK. According to him, through Toufar's story, people also try to understand what happened in the 1950s. “Miloš Doležal and I have attended dozens of meetings, dozens of lectures, when we are invited to various parishes or to secondary schools,” he said. The writer and columnist Miloš Doležal mapped the events in Číhošť and Toufar's life.
The Czech Bishops' Conference agreed to start the process of beatification of Josef Toufar ten years ago. In reality, this process was started in November 2018. “There were two years of covid,” Petráček pointed out. He added that in the current preparatory phase of the diocesan process, historical sources are being collected, including Toufar's texts and records of witness statements. “Because witnesses from the time of Josef Toufar are still alive and it is necessary to listen to their testimony,” he said. In case of a positive result of the diocesan phase, the documents will be sent to Rome.
Josef Toufar was born on July 14, 1902 in Arnolci near Polná. He was dragged away from the rectory in Číhošt by the StB because of the so-called Čihošt miracle, during which the cross on the altar in the church allegedly moved in December 1949. After brutal interrogations, the priest died on February 25, 1950. The circumstances of the event in the Číhošť church were never fully clarified.
