Pope Francis, meet your priest: Ludmila Javorová

As Pope Francis travels to Slovakia next week, Sr. Miriam Therese Winter will join FutureChurch and the Women’s Ordination Conference to recall the ministry and life of Ludmila Javorová, a woman who was ordained a Roman Catholic priest by Bishop Felix Davidek to serve in the underground church there when the church was under threat by the Communist regime from 1948 through 1989.

Learn about her life, ministry, and why she is important as the world follows Francis to Slovakia:
Tuesday, September 14, 2021,12:00 PM ET
Register for the Zoom link here

During his travels (Sept. 12-15), Pope Francis will visit his Jesuit brothers and likely recall the heroism of Jesuit priest Ján Chryzostom Korec who, under Communist rule, was secretly ordained a bishop (at the age of 27) and carried out his underground pastoral ministry – work that landed him in prison. Korec was later made a cardinal by John Paul II.

Yet, Pope Francis will not spend time with 89-year-old Ludmila Javorová, a Catholic woman who put her duty to care for the Church and God’s people over her need for safety by becoming secretly, but fully ordained as a priest under the communist regime. 

Ordained in 1970 by Bishop Felix Davidek, Javorová became vicar general for a major branch of the underground Czech church for twenty years.  

Ludmila Javorová became the first woman ordained to the priesthood to tell her story publicly, confiding her experience in its entirety to Sr. Miriam Therese Winter, who later published her authorized biography in 2001.
Join us as Sr. Miriam Therese Winter shares her story of meeting Ludmila. Learn how the story of her heroism unfolded between them and how they became very close friends along the way. We will also discuss the implications of her clandestine ordination and the Vatican’s effort to “erase” it because Ludmila is a priest who is a woman.  

This story is important for all people as Pope Francis journeys to meet Catholics in Slovakia and celebrate those who courageously protected and pastored Catholics there when the times called for such selfless measures.