President and cardinal invite pope to Velehrad for Cyril and Methodius celebration

President Zeman met with Cardinal Dominik Duka on Friday to draft an invitation addressed to Pope Francis for the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Cyril and Methodius in the Great Moravian Empire, which will take place in July in Velehrad in eastern Moravia. Czech church officials had invited Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration before he stepped down, and now want to urge the newly elected pope to attend the event. The Pope’s secretary has said that so far the head of the Catholic Church has the dates of the celebration free, but did not confirm if the Pope is planning to attend.