Jan Baxant

Life as Bishop

Baxant is considered a conservative bishop and for a time was frequently referred to as one of the serious candidates for to become Archbishop of Prague after the retirement of Archbishop Vlk.

On 25 April 2009 Baxant celebrated the Tridentine Mass while attending a pilgrimage to honor St. Vojtech in Litoměřice District. The mass has been requested by the local spiritual administrator Jan Radim Valík OSB to be according to the missal of 1962. In the 40 years since Vatican II Baxant became the first Czech bishop to officially celebrate mass according to the pre-Vatican II tradition. Since then Baxant has periodically celebrated mass in the Tridentine form.

On 12 April 2017 Baxant was hospitalized with a heart attack. He was temporary replaced by the emeritus auxiliary bishop of Prague, Karel Herbst. By 1 June 2017 Baxant had resumed his role of bishop after recovering from the heart attack.