Ján Havlík – life and works

The Servant of God Ján Havlík, known as Janko, was born on February 12, 1928, in the village of Vlčkovany, Slovakia, as the eldest of four children. He was baptized two days later, on February 14, 1928. His family lived in extreme poverty, and from a young age, he faced great sacrifices to attend school.

On September 27, 1941, he received the Sacrament of Confirmation in Radošovce. In 1943, at the age of fifteen, he made his vocational decision to become a priest and a Lazarist missionary, to proclaim God’s love to the poor. He moved to Banská Bystrica to attend the Apostolic School of the Congregation of the Mission of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Due to the persecution unleashed by the communist regime against Church structures, the Apostolic School was closed in May 1950. The Servant of God, after being transferred to the village of Kostolna for a couple of weeks of political indoctrination, was sent to work on the youth dam construction site in Puchov until August 10, 1950, and then to a state-run company in Nitra.

Wanting to continue his studies in preparation for the priesthood and refusing to join the seminaries created by the regime and not recognized by the Church, the Servant of God continued his studies clandestinely in Nitra along with some novitiate companions and under the guidance of the superiors of the Congregation of the Mission.

On October 29, 1951, the secret police raided and arrested Ján Havlík along with his companions and superiors on charges of “high treason.” Before the trial, which took place between February 3 and 5, 1953, they remained imprisoned for fifteen months, marked by violence and torture. The sentence was extremely severe: the Servant of God was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment, later reduced to 10. To serve his sentence, he was transferred to labor camps, first in Ostrov, in the Jáchymov area, and then to Příbram. The harsh living conditions, along with the injuries sustained while performing his assigned tasks, led to the progressive deterioration of his physical condition, manifesting primarily in severe heart problems.

Despite all the suffering, even in the darkest moments, he remained faithful to his mission, tirelessly dedicating himself to helping his companions both materially and spiritually. Faithful to the Lord’s call, even in prison, he professed Christian values and did not hide his vocation. This conviction made him a target. He was beaten, isolated for months, forced to do the hardest labor, and brutally interrogated at any hour of the day or night. Due to this perseverance, he was further accused of crimes against the State, and in 1959 he was sentenced to an additional year of imprisonment: his missionary activity was considered incompatible with the “religious freedom” proclaimed by the Czechoslovak constitution.

He submitted several applications for benefits such as parole and amnesty, which were systematically denied because, despite his impeccable behavior, his adherence to the Church made him ideologically hostile to the regime. Meanwhile, his physical condition continued to deteriorate, leading to periodic hospitalizations.

On October 29, 1962, he was released after serving his sentence at the age of 34. His health was irreparably compromised.

He spent the last three years of his life between the hospital and his mother’s home, dedicating his remaining strength to apostolic work, accompanying First Communion children, visiting the sick, and translating religious texts. He never complained about the constant suffering, the pain that never left him, or uttered a word of accusation against his persecutors.

Ján Havlík died on his name day, December 27, 1965, at the age of 37, as a seminarian of the Mission, offering the sacrifice of his life.

Since his death, the Servant of God enjoyed the reputation of an authentic martyr among those who knew him and admired his extraordinary testimony of faith, which never wavered despite the harsh persecution he endured, and witnessed the progressive deterioration of his physical condition due to the mistreatment he suffered during imprisonment. However, during the communist regime, it was not possible to express such convictions openly, so the reputation of martyrdom persisted, but in a latent manner. After the return of democracy, Ján Havlík’s testimony began to emerge more clearly: many initiatives were dedicated to him, several publications about him were printed, and even the younger generations began to learn about his figure.

The opening session of the diocesan beatification process took place on June 9, 2013, in Bratislava; on December 14, 2023, Pope Francis authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the Decree concerning his martyrdom.