1. Jozef Tomko was a Slovak prelate of the Catholic Church who held positions in the Roman Curia from 1962 until he retired in 2007.
19 Facts About Jozef Tomko
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Jozef Tomko was prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 1985 to 2001 and president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses from 2001 to 2007.
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Jozef Tomko was born 11 March 1924 in Udavske, near Humenne, in Czechoslovakia.
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Jozef Tomko was sent to Rome to study at the Pontifical Lateran Athenaeum and Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained his doctorates in theology, canon law, and social sciences.
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Jozef Tomko continued his studies at the Lateran and Gregorian University while doing pastoral work in Rome and Porto e Santa Rufina until 1979.
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Jozef Tomko taught at the International University Pro Deo from 1955 to 1956 as well.
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Jozef Tomko visited the Slovak communities in the United States, Canada, and various European countries several times.
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Jozef Tomko was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain supernumerary on 5 December 1959, and entered the service of the Roman Curia in 1962, as an adjunct in the Book Censorship Section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
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Jozef Tomko became an Honorary Prelate of His Holiness on 17 June 1970.
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Jozef Tomko was named Undersecretary of the Congregation for Bishops in 1974.
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Jozef Tomko was a visiting professor at the Gregorian University from 1970 to 1977.
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On 12 July 1979, Jozef Tomko was appointed Secretary General of the World Synod of Bishops and Titular Archbishop of Doclea by Pope John Paul II.
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Jozef Tomko was named Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on 24 April 1985 and Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.
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Jozef Tomko was named a member of the Presynodal Council for Special Synod of Asian Bishops in September 1995.
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Jozef Tomko was appointed President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses on 23 October 2001.
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At the papal inauguration of Pope Francis on 19 March 2013, Jozef Tomko was one of the six cardinals who made the public act of obedience on behalf of the College of Cardinals to the new pope.
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Jozef Tomko became the oldest living member of the College of Cardinals upon the death of Cardinal Albert Vanhoye on 29 July 2021.
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Jozef Tomko died in Rome on 8 August 2022 at the age of 98.
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Jozef Tomko had recently suffered a spinal injury, and was further weakened from COVID-19 complications.