Twenty-five years ago, the Basic Concordat between Slovakia and the Holy See came into force , and to mark the occasion, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar invited Vatican Minister for Relations with States Paul Richard Gallagher. Gallagher made an official visit to Bratislava from January 30 to February 1.
Why celebrate the anniversary of a landmark agreement? Because the agreement is not simply a bureaucratic instrument. The agreement certifies mutual recognition between Church and State, defines responsibilities, and establishes lines of collaboration that serve not only the local Catholic community but also as a model for other religious denominations.
Furthermore, the discipline of concordats is crucial for the Holy See. When nation-states emerged after World War I and the collapse of empires, the Holy See’s policy was to recognize and enter into agreements with them, precisely to defend the Catholic flock. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Holy See was quick to do the same with the states within the Soviet orbit, thanks also to the tireless work of John Paul II, who dedicated the last decade to visiting the states of the Eastern lung of Europe.
In this context, the agreement’s entry into force with Slovakia is of profound significance. Czechoslovakia was one of the most intractable places for the Ostpolitik of Monsignor Agostino Casaroli (later Cardinal and Vatican Secretary of State), and John Paul II visited the then “Czech and Slovak Federal Republic” as early as 1990, also visiting Bratislava—a first for a Pope. When this federal republic dissolved into two distinct states, the Holy See maintained relations with both. But of the two, Slovakia was the Catholic heartland, and it was, in fact, the first to reach a fundamental agreement. Suffice it to say that the Holy See and the Czech Republic only signed an agreement on certain legal issues in 2024 .
This explains the meaning of the visit of the Holy See’s “Foreign Minister,” called not only to celebrate an agreement, but also a long-standing friendship between the Holy See and Slovakia . A friendship that led Pope Francis to visit the country in 2021 .
Gallagher’s visit program
visit concluded with a solemn Mass in St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava on February 1, 2026. Concelebrating were several Slovak bishops and Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, Apostolic Nuncio to Slovakia. During the trip, Archbishop Gallagher also made a private visit to Nitra.
On January 30, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár , received Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher in a working meeting, during which both parties emphasized the importance of the Fundamental Agreement as a stable framework for dialogue, mutual respect, and cooperation between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See. The discussions also covered the current international situation, including developments in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other crisis-ridden regions; support for the European integration of the Western Balkans; migration issues; United Nations reform; the role of the OSCE; and the protection of religious freedom.
The talks between the two representatives, as well as the event at the Apostolic Nunciature, were also attended by the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Holy See, Juraj Priputen .
On January 30, Archbishop Gallagher also met with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini.
The discussion focused not only on assessing the importance of the Fundamental Agreement’s 25-year history for religious freedom and ecclesiastical education, but also on current foreign policy and security challenges in Europe and worldwide. The meeting confirmed that the Fundamental Agreement provides a stable framework for relations and legal certainty and can provide an impetus for further cooperation, in the spirit of mutual respect and the common good.
The visit provided important impetus for the further development of relations between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See.
An international symposium
On January 31, Archbishop Gallagher participated in an international symposium to mark the entry into force of the Fundamental Treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See. The symposium was held at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava and brought together representatives of the Church, the state, and academia. The symposium was organized by the Apostolic Nunciature, the Institute of Canon Law, and the Slovak Episcopal Conference.
Eduard Burda, Dean of the Faculty, emphasized at the event’s opening that modern society cannot survive without building on values, while warning that efforts to erase historical and spiritual roots lead to social decline.
Archbishop Cyril Vasiľ SJ, Eparchial Bishop of Košice , recalled that Slovakia’s relations with the Holy See have shaped our civilizational space since the time of Saints Cyril and Methodius and the letters of Pope John VIII, and emphasized that the Church’s mission in these relations remains the service of human dignity and the common good, goals common to every person of good will.
Archbishop Gallagher described the Fundamental Treaty as a living framework for cooperation .
According to the Vatican’s “foreign minister ,” the Concordat of Worms of 1122 clarified the distinction between spiritual and temporal authority, based on the biblical principle of “rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Gallagher emphasized that such agreements are not a means of preserving privileges, but rather stable legal frameworks that recognize both the autonomy of the civil order and the Church’s specific mission.
Gallagher also expressed concern about the erosion of multilateralism and the shift from dialogue to confrontation and force, while the Holy See’s diplomacy, strengthened by full diplomatic relations with 184 states, serves as an instrument of unity and the protection of universal values. Gallagher emphasized that the Holy See’s objective is the salvation of souls and the promotion of peaceful coexistence among nations, in compliance with international law.
Marek Eštok, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, called the Holy See an important moral compass in turbulent times and emphasized that Slovak foreign policy is fully aligned with Vatican diplomacy on issues of peaceful conflict resolution and the protection of persecuted Christians. He called the Fundamental Treaty a symbol of mutual respect and of state recognition of the irreplaceable role of the Church, which operates in an ecumenical dimension for the benefit of society as a whole.
Professor Vincenzo Buonomo, scientific director of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (the school of apostolic nuncios), analyzed the relationship between canon law and international law and underlined that international treaties are considered lex specialis in the canonical system, that is, having superior juridical force to internal ecclesiastical codes. Buonomo also emphasized the Holy See’s contribution to international codification, for example, in the definition of ius cogens norms .
Professor Marek Šmid, one of the actors involved in the treaty’s preparation, outlined the historical process of its creation and its systemic anchoring. He recalled that the treaty was approved unanimously by the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 2000, with all 100 deputies present voting in favor. This had never happened before.
Šmid illustrated the partnership model of cooperation, in which the state and the church serve the same person: a citizen and a believer at the same time . He particularly emphasized the importance of Article 7 on conscientious objection, which, in his view, guarantees this right to all without distinction.
The policy of the Holy See and the concordats
As mentioned, the Holy See’s concordat diplomacy has ancient roots, but it developed particularly after the First World War, when, among other things, the Holy See was a state without territory – the Vatican City State was established only in 1929, after the Concordat with Italy.
Between 1917 and 1921, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes were formed. The attempt to create an independent Ukraine failed. Hungary lost much of its historic territory, and Bulgaria was forced to cede some important regions to Romania and Greece, which had remained on the side of the Entente. Albania stabilized its borders .
Benedict XV decides to pursue a diplomatic approach that positions him as an arbiter and peacemaker between nations, viewing states pragmatically. This is the line of Leo XIII, who established the Holy See’s independence from all nations, thereby ending the alliance between throne and altar.
Benedict XV thus launched a season of concordats with the new States, while at the same time founding the Congregation for the Oriental Church and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, with hope for the situation in the East.
Pius XI inherited this two-speed diplomacy, received a Report on the Various States, and in some ways followed the diplomatic line of Benedict XV.
Pius XI, however, differs from Benedict XV, as evidenced by the 1922 encyclical Ubi Arcano. Pius XI maintains his criticism of excessive nationalism but also expresses his distrust of democratic systems and their fragility. This criticism of democracy is also evident in his approach to totalitarian regimes: Pius XI consistently regards political parties as a weak form of negotiation.
It was a pragmatic line, which looked beyond European borders, multiplied non-European nunciatures, and which condemned Nazism and Communism, but at the same time sought a modus vivendi with the regimes, which Cardinal Agostino Casaroli later masterfully defined as modus non moriendi , a way of not dying.
However, this line was overturned by the Communist anti-religious offensive. Pius XI published the encyclical Divini Redemptoris in 1937, and it is there that Pius XII’s policy towards the countries beyond the Iron Curtain is set out in essence. From hope to disillusionment: this was the path taken by the papal representatives.
How did the Concordat develop? In 1918, the Holy See recognized Finland. In the spring of that year, Monsignor Achille Ratti was appointed apostolic visitor to Poland and Lithuania, and then visitor for all the territories that had been subject to the Russian Empire, from Finland to the Black Sea to Siberia. In Poland, he found himself facing a nation at war, one that identified Catholicism with the nation and had expansionist ambitions.
The relationship with the Polish episcopate was difficult, as the bishops sought to assert their role. This was a recurring theme during the Cold War, when the Polish bishops sought to maintain control over negotiations with the government and, at times, made life difficult for Monsignor Casaroli, who was engaged in difficult mediation. The Concordat with Poland was concluded in 1925, with Nuncio Lauri.
The Holy See then addressed the issue of relations with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes , a predominantly Orthodox state. The Holy See recognized it at the end of 1919 and established a nunciature in Belgrade in 1920.
There, too, the main task was to establish a concordat, in a heterogeneous nation where— as Nuncio Pellegrinetti wrote— “Byzantium and Rome still touch but are not confused.” After several interruptions in the negotiations, a Concordat was signed in 1935. The text was balanced. The Yugoslav state had a say in episcopal appointments, while the Holy See gained greater freedom for religious orders and Catholic associations. The text was presented to the Senate only two years later, and due to various vicissitudes, including staunch opposition from the Orthodox Church, it was never ratified.
Czechoslovakia immediately established itself as a deeply anti-Catholic, secular state. This, too, was a theme that recurred after the Second World War. Born from the union of Slovakia, Bohemia, Moravia, Subcarpathian Ruthenia, and part of Silesia, Czechoslovakia was plagued by strong ethnic tensions. The Holy See established diplomatic relations as early as 1919, sending Clement Micara to represent the Holy See before a government that sought to replace Hungarian bishops with Czechoslovak bishops, to redraw dioceses along the new national borders, and to disavow the actions of Reverend Hlinkabe disavowed. The result was a relationship marked by ups and downs, including three crises, but it nevertheless led to the signing, in 1927, of a modus vivendi that confirmed the Holy See’s right to appoint bishops, subject to political objections from the government. Church property was returned.
Romania found itself 1.5 times larger in territory. The Holy See established an apostolic nunciature as early as the second half of the 1920s , with the primary objective of reconstituting a Catholic identity rather than engaging in diplomacy. In 1927, the Holy See concluded a concordat, which was ratified in 1929, despite Orthodox opposition. There was still a political clause regarding bishops as impediments, but bishops only had to obtain government authorization if they were foreigners.
The post-World War I period in Hungary brought first the communist revolution of Bela Kun and then the monarchical restoration of Admiral Horthy, who sought the support of the Catholic Church. Thus, Hungary returned to the Church’s property, confessional schools, state subsidies, privileged positions for the clergy, and landed property. The Holy See appointed its first nuncio in 1920.
Between 1917 and 1920, the three Baltic countries achieved full independence. Lithuania was predominantly Catholic; Latvia had a quarter Catholic population; and Estonia had a Catholic minority. Monsignor Ratti was appointed apostolic visitor to Poland and Lithuania, which was recognized by the Holy See belatedly due to the Polish-Russian War and the various occupations of Vilnius. Estonia and Latvia had already been recognized in 1921.
The problems were similar: in Lithuania, there was a clash with nationalism, and for this reason, a concordat was signed only in 1927, but the conflicts with the Holy See continued also because of the desire to introduce a law on divorce in 1937 and the Polish-Lithuanian crisis of 1938. In Latvia, however, the situation was calmer, so much so that a concordat was signed as early as May 1922 , while Estonia soon had its own representative, and in 1933 there was an apostolic administrator for Estonia, Eduard Profittlich, who was later martyred.
But all these representations were destined to be short-lived. Beginning in 1938, first with the Munich Agreement, and then with the Second World War, which began with the German invasion of Poland, the Holy See had to determine how to behave. Pius XII sought to remain impartial, but Vatican diplomacy was complicated by the Soviet Union’s entry into the war on the side of the Western Allies.
When the Czechoslovak nation was dismembered, the nuncio in Prague, Monsignor Saverio Ritter, moved to Bratislava, the capital of the independent Slovak Republic, recognized by the Holy See, with which a concordat was stipulated in 1943 and then renegotiated after the war.
The Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 led Nuncio Cortesi to abandon his post, while the Holy See recognized a chargé d’affaires to the Polish government in exile for the duration of the war and beyond. During the war, the nuncios in Bucharest and Budapest managed to remain in their posts and help the persecuted population and Jews.
After the Second World War, the Church was severely persecuted in all these countries, especially starting in 1948, the year in which the countries beyond the Iron Curtain stabilized. And the Holy See found allies only in the Western world, so much so that two Americans were appointed as nuncios to Eastern European countries: Joseph Hurley as regent of the nunciature in Belgrade and Patrick O’Hara, regent of the nunciature in Romania.
The situation was extremely difficult. In Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary, show trials were held against bishops, while in 1949 the Vatican issued a decree prohibiting Catholics from collaborating with communist parties and organizations under penalty of excommunication.
Certainly, the new wind brought an end to papal representations in Central and Eastern Europe. It would take Casaroli, with his travels beyond the Iron Curtain and his weaving work, to reopen some of these relationships. And it would take thirty years and a Polish Pope for a papal representation to be established in countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain.
Slovakia and its history
After World War II, Slovakia faced Soviet anti-religious sentiment. There is a piece of Slovakian history that must not be forgotten: the so-called ” barbaric night ,” the communist government’s brutal attack on monasteries on the night of April 13-14, 1950: 76 were destroyed, leaving 1,200 monks stranded. The destruction continued with a trial that indicted and imprisoned church leaders . For this reason, April 13th in Slovakia is “the day of the unjustly persecuted.”
The “barbaric night” brought deaths of martyrs in captivity, including three blesseds ( Pavel Peter Gojdic, eparch of Presov; Vasil Hopko, auxiliary of Presov; Zdenka Schelingova, nun ), and a deep wound in the history of the Church. But it also constituted proof that faith cannot be destroyed .
The communists had called it ” Action K,” and had been studying it since 1948 , when they took power. The reason was that they considered religious orders the most dangerous enemy because of their hold on the population.
In February 1950, the Czechoslovak Communist Party’s Central Committee approved the operation. And so, between April 13 and 14, security agents raided 56 monasteries belonging to 11 religious orders, arresting 881 people.
One memoir reads: “They started banging on the front door and in the hallways with rifles. They entered the houses where we lived. Get dressed immediately, take only the clothes you need, and go down to the reception desk.”
From the gatehouse, the monks were deported by bus and truck to the so-called “concentration monasteries.” But that wasn’t the end: between May 3rd and 4th, Operation K2 took place, in which the remaining men’s monasteries were also occupied.
In total, the two operations affected 1,180 religious men and 15 religious orders operating in 76 monasteries in Slovakia.
The concentration monasteries were in the villages of Mocenok , Hronsky Benadik , Kostolna Bac, and Podolinec , the latter being the strictest and also the one that supported the largest number of clerics. These were later tried, spent a period of forced labor, and another in prison .
But even then, it wasn’t over. At the end of August 1950, Action R took place, aimed at liquidating female religious orders.
Between August 28 and 31, 1,962 nuns from 36 convents were interned , and 137 properties belonging to the orders were expropriated.
Monastic life was permitted again in 1968, during the Prague Spring, when the General Prosecutor’s Office announced that there was no law prohibiting it. But complete independence for monasteries was only possible again in Czechoslovakia after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 .
There were many heroes of that period. Among them, the young Jesuit Jan Chryzostom Korec . He was 26 years old, arrested, then released and forced into civilian life after more than six months of interrogation, spent between the Jasov , Podolinec , and Pezinok prisons . Soon after his release, he was secretly ordained a priest and promoted to bishop at just 27 years old. As bishop, he operated in secret, ordaining 120 priests, while working as a laborer. Arrested again in 1960, he was sentenced to 12 years of harsh prison for counter-revolutionary activity.
In 1968 he was released and rehabilitated the following year, although he remained under surveillance. After the collapse of the communist regime, he was created a cardinal by Saint John Paul II in 1991. Having died in 2015, Cardinal Korec is considered one of the heroes of the silent Church.
A Church that was truly the victim of one of the most atrocious anti-Christian persecutions . It is no coincidence that John Paul II visited Czechoslovakia, the first country beyond the Iron Curtain after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was 1990. John Paul II then returned to Slovakia in 2003, where he beatified the martyrs Vasil Hopko and Zdenka Schelingová . In 2023, for the twentieth anniversary of the visit, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, visited Slovakia.
Slovakia today
Slovakia currently enjoys a very strong relationship with the Holy See. Pope Francis’s 2021 visit to the country confirmed this. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Concordat’s entry into force has strengthened relations.
The period of religious persecution has ended – in 2020 the president of the National Council of Slovakia, Boris Kollar , transformed a commemoration of Blessed Paul Peter Gojdic In a historic event, officially apologizing for the abolition of the Greek Catholic Church in the country seventy years ago, Slovakia is now affected by the developments of the war in Ukraine, and finds itself at the center of a Europe that seems to be rebuilt in its original spirit. Could Slovakia be a starting point for this European renewal?