A smartphone helps him with his sermons, he leads a rich social life, he goes to the gym, leads mountain hiking trips and designs his own vestments. He recently celebrated his 30th birthday and is the first Roman Catholic priest to come from a Romani environment in today’s Czech Republic.
Vojtěch Vágai, Jr, a parochial vicar and youth chaplain, was recently interviewed on the Tandem program of the Vysočina regional edition of Czech Radio by Tamara Pecková. Vágai comes from the family of the first Romani Catholic clergyman of Romani nationality in the former Czechoslovakia.
Vojtěch Vágai, Sr worked as a permanent deacon in the town of Český Krumlov. Why did his son decide to become a priest and follow in his father’s footsteps?
The young priest says of his decision for the priesthood: "It’s not a one-time affair, it’s a daily one. A person decides to serve on a daily basis."
Vágai, Jr began thinking about whether or not he wanted a family during his studies at the St. Agnes of Bohemia Secondary School of Applied Arts in Český Krumlov. "I was considering what direction to take. Where does God see me, what am I supposed to do, for what do I have a capacity, a gift? What will fulfill my life?" Vágai recalls.
"When I first went to confess someone, I was very worried whether everything would go well, mainly for the person who was confessing. I prayed a great deal for that. What I mean is a human approach to the person who is opening up to God and to the priest at the same time. These days that is something very precious. I greatly value the trust that people place in me," the young priest says humbly.
