EUROPE/CZECH REPUBLIC - The “Night of the Churches”, an opportunity for encounters in the time of agnosticism

by Chiara Dommarco

Prague (Agenzia Fides) – On Friday, May 23, the Czech Republic hosted the 17th edition of the “Night of Churches” (Noc kostelů), centered this year on the theme of hope, in line with the ongoing Jubilee Year. A total of 1,868 churches remained open and accessible free of charge from the afternoon until late at night across the country, including several Protestant places of worship.
The event attracted tens of thousands of visitors, who also had the opportunity to meet with men and women religious, as well as lay volunteers who took care of the various scheduled activities in the program, amidst a constant flow of attendees.
Various cultural initiatives were proposed during the event, including concerts, exhibitions and food and wine stands.
“The goal of each of us is happiness. We need the kind of happiness that comes from love that fills us, so that we can say: I am loved, therefore I am. And I will always be in the Love that never deceives and from which nothing and no one can separate me”. These words were part of a message shared by Metropolitan Archbishop of Prague, Jan Graubner, addressed to the visitors—including thousands of tourists in the capital.
Czech Minister of Culture Martin Baxa also praised the initiative, highlighting how it offers “a unique and personal experience.”
In the late afternoon, the Italian Embassy in Prague offered a free guided tour of the Chapel of the Italians (Vlašská Kaple), located in the renowned Klementinum complex. The chapel has been recently restored and is only opened to the public a few times a year.
In the Bohemian and Moravian lands, the Night of Churches holds special significance. While interconfessional conflicts—such as the Hussite Wars and the Bohemian phase of the Thirty Years’ War—have left a painful legacy, the longstanding positive contributions of Christian communities in these lands were later undermined by religious persecution under Nazi occupation and during the Communist regime.
Furthermore, according to a 2017 survey, the Czech Republic has the highest percentage of agnostics among former Soviet-bloc countries. (Pew Research Center).
The 2021 national census reports that only 7% of the population declared themselves as Catholic. Initiatives like this, therefore, promote knowledge of the artistic heritage of the country and of the Christian communities that have contributed to its development, all within a peaceful and constructive atmosphere.
This year, the initiative’s public and ecumenical dimension was especially evident in the participation of the Chapel of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. Inaugurated in 2016, the chapel stands as a symbol of reconciliation among the country’s various Christian denominations.
In its dual function of national reconciliation and affirmation of the positive value of Christian confessions for Czech society as a whole, the Chapel hosted performances of several modern Christian-inspired songs during the evening.
The “Night of Churches” initiative began in 1995 in Frankfurt, and then spread to other German cities, Austria since 2005 and, more recently, to parts of South Tyrol, the Czech Republic, in Slovakia and Estonia. (Agenzia Fides, 26/5/2025)

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