Marek Šmíd
THE PERSONALITY OF ŠIMON BÁRTA (1864-1940), THE EIGHTH BISHOP OF ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE,
IN THE PERIOD BEFORE HIS EPISCOPATE
Abstract: The study deals with the personality of Šimon Bárta in the period before his episcopate.
It follows his Roman formation, his pastoral work in Sedlice, his pedagogical activities in České
Budějovice and Pelhřimov, his open dispute with the authority of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and his
publishing activities in many regional newspapers and magazines. It reflects Bárta’s transformation,
when it gradually became an educated priest, a far-sighted spiritual and wise youth guide, as
contemporaries from his surroundings agreed. It emphasizes his Roman formation, during which
the educational method he acquired was able to provide the spiritual, moral and religious influence
and influence him and his surroundings. He considered obedience to the church and the main
authorities to be an unreserved priority in his thinking, to which he also subordinated his decisions.
However, the Roman school not only influenced his human perosonality, but also successfully
influenced it as a spiritual shepherd, preacher, and publicist. These facts certainly played a role in
his appointment as Bishop of České Budějovice in 1920, when the Holy See saw him as a suitable
candidate considering the new conditions in the country after the World War I.
Keywords: Šimon Bárta; the Catholic Church; Czech Lands in the nineteenth and twentienth century;
Vatican
THEOLOGICAL REVIEW, Vol. 92, 2021, No. 1, Number of Article 3, p. 38 – 53.
DOI: 10.14712/12117617.92.1.3