14 Facts About Dominik Duka

Dominik Duka was the spiritual protector and chaplain general of the Orleans obedience of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem from 2012 to 2021.

Dominik Duka was born on 26 April 1943 in Hradec Kralove in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Dominik Duka's father was an army officer who fought for the allied forces in World War II, based at RAF Cosford, who was later imprisoned in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s.

Dominik Duka graduated from Tyl Grammar School in Hradec Kralove in 1960 and worked in a factory and as an apprentice locksmith before entering military service from 1962 to 1964.

Dominik Duka was elected to a three-year term as president of the Conference of Major Superiors of the Czech Republic in 1989.

On 6 June 1998 Dominik Duka was appointed bishop of Hradec Kralove.

On 23 December 2011, Dominik Duka presided at the funeral liturgy of Vaclav Havel.

On 18 February 2012, Dominik Duka was made cardinal priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro.

Dominik Duka was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.

Dominik Duka contributed to a book Eleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and the Family which urged fellow church leaders to maintain the church's rules regarding marriage and strengthen Catholic education about marriage and family life.

In May 2016, Dominik Duka claimed that the pope could not fully understand the refugee crisis because he is not from Europe.

Dominik Duka has frequently spoken against Muslim immigration into Europe and has said that Muslims can only be considered a "safe presence" if they make up less than five percent of the population.

Dominik Duka has had several clashes with Templeton winner Tomas Halik.

However, Cardinal Dominik Duka seems to have got on a train he will never have the courage to leave.