S.E.R. Bernard Bober

As a child he wanted to become either a teacher, a doctor, a pilot or a soldier, however, he ended up becoming a priest. Even though he had never seen a bishop until he was already 18 – as he tells us. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Košice is striving to engage people in lively, cross-border discussions. The relic of Blessed Anna Kolesárová was placed on the Mission Cross – the symbol of the International Eucharistic Congress – by Archbishop Bernard Bober. The Martyrs of Košice were also placed on the Cross. On the 400th anniversary of their death, the archbishop underlined: “Neither of the three Saint Martyrs of Košice were of Slovakian origin. All three of them came from different cultural backgrounds: Mark Krizin was born in the region of modern Croatia, Melchior Grodziecki was from Poland, while Stephen Pongracz was from Transylvania. They were martyred in Košice, this is how they became one »our people«. They became brothers through their shared faith, which is another testament to the supranational nature of the Catholic Church. The Church gathers all who are baptized into one great family – regardless of our race or nationality.”