Former head of Czech Roman Catholic Church Miloslav Vlk dies at 84

The former head of the Czech Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, has died at the age of 84. His successor in that post, Prague Archbishop Dominik Duka, announced the news on his Twitter account on Saturday. Cardinal Vlk had been suffering from lung cancer. He was ordained in June 1968 during the Prague Spring but had his license to minister revoked in the late 1970s and worked as a window cleaner in Prague while also conducting underground services. Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Prague in 1991 and made him a cardinal three years later. Miloslav Vlk stepped down as head of the Czech Roman Catholic church in 2010.

Author: Ian Willoughby