"You have the power, but we are right!" SILVESTER KRCMERY (1924 - 2013) – Call for papers: Scientific conference on the 100th anniversary of Silvester Krčméry's birth

"You have the power, but we are right!"
SILVESTER KRCMERY (1924 - 2013)
Scientific conference on the 100th anniversary of Silvester Krčméry's
birth

Organisers: The Nation’s Memory Institute, The Trnava Self-Governing Region, The Fatima Community, The University of Trnava, The Anton Neuwirth Collegium

Venue: Trnava

Date: 24th June 2024

The Nation's Memory Institute on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. h. c. MUDr. Silvester Krčméry SF (1924 - 2013) will organize a scientific conference dedicated to his life, public activity
and legacy. The aim of the interdisciplinary scientific conference is to analyse the life and work of Silvester Krčméry against the background of 20th century Slovak history, marked by the rule of two undemocratic
regimes.

Silvester Krčméry was born on the 5th August 1924 in Trnava. He was influenced by the teachings of the Croatian priest Tomislav Kolakovic, he was involved in the Rodina movement in the late 1940s and 1950s. For
these activities, he was imprisoned by the communist regime and sentenced to many years in prison. After his return from prison, he became involved in the Christian milieu in order to revive the Catholic
Church's activity, which had been marred by repression.

According to Krčméry's speech in court on the 24th June 1954, the deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (parliament) also set the date of the Slovak Republic's Memorial Day in 2020 - the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Communist Regime.

In 1968 he was involved in the Work of the Council of the Renewal and after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact he co-founded the Fatima Society (1974), participated in the building of the secret Church and was also in contact with Pope John Paul II, who invited him to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. The secret church was the main force of Slovak dissends during the period of the so-called normalization, Krčméry was one of its key personalities.

The conference will focus on the following topics:
- Krčméry’s family (roots, ancestors, relatives)
- Krčméry's childhood and youth (relationship to his hometown, background in Banská Bystrica, student times, scouting, literary work)
- Kolakovič and his influence on S. Krčméry, the Family Movement
- S. Krčméry's anti-communist activities and imprisonment in 1946 and in the 1950s (until 1964)
- The building of The Secret church and activities during the period of the so-called normalization (Fatima Community, Samizdat, Candlelight Manifestation) and work as a doctor in Podunajské Biskupice
- Spiritual profile and spirituality of S. Krčméry (Jesuit spirituality, ecumenism)
- Relations with foreign countries (Communion and Liberation, Taize, Pope John Paul II, Radio Free Europe, exile, etc.)
- The legacy and reflection of the personality of S. Krčméry in the politics of memory, art and inspiration of following generations
- Personal memories and testimonies (family, friends, colleagues)
The outcome of the scientific conference will be a peer-reviewed collective monograph.

Applications with the title of the paper, a short abstract and a brief professional CV should be sent by 31 March 2024 to frantisek.neupauer@upn.gov.sk. The event organisers reserve the right to select participants.