May 17, 2012. (Romereports.com) The archbishop of Prague, Miroslav Vlk turns 80 years old on May 17th. That means he will no longer be eligible to vote in an eventual conclave. His personal story is quite interesting. In the 50's he wasn't allowed to enter into the seminary, since the communist government forbade the study of theology. So, he began working at a car factory.
But eventually, in the year 1968 he was ordained a priest at the age of 36. For years he celebrated the Sacraments secretly and to avoid attention, he began working as a window cleaner in Prague.
Everything changed in 1989, when he was allowed to freely live out his priestly vocation. In 1991, John Paul II named him archbishop of Prague, and three years later, he was made a cardinal.
With Cardinal Vlk's 80th birthday, there will be 88 cardinals who will not be allowed to vote in an eventual conclave. For now, the number of cardinal electors will be 122.
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