Roman Catholic Parish of Christ the King Prague-Vysočany

The Church of Christ the King lies in the middle of the Vysočany courtyard, behind the facade of an inconspicuous apartment building. If you walk by, you might not even notice it—and you might not even know there is a church. Perhaps only the inscription on the facade of the building will alert you that behind the passageway is not a warehouse or an empty courtyard, but a real church.

The reason why it is hidden in this way dates back to the time of its construction. At that time, the city council was not very supportive of the idea to build a new Catholic church – the town hall was already occupied by left-wingers who did not want a noticeable sacred building in the centre of Vysočany. The condition set by the city council in the early 1920s was: "If you want to build a church here, there must be an apartment building in front of it." The building was also given the name "sanctuary" – a term that discourages curious onlookers and ignores the fact that it is a Catholic church.

The idea for the construction originated in 1919, when Father Arnošt Oliva launched a fundraising campaign that attracted contributions from over 6,000 donors, raising three-quarters of a million crowns in less than a year. In 1920, Pope Benedict XV added 50,000 lire, and in 1929, Archbishop František Kordač contributed 150,000 crowns. The foundation stone was laid on October 6, 1929, and on September 7, 1930, Bishop Antonín Podlaha consecrated the church. The project was designed by architect Bedřich Vrzal, and the sculptural decorations were created by Damián Pešan. The paintings are by Zikmund Rudl, who is also the author of the fresco decorations in the Waldstein Chapel in St. Vitus Cathedral. For the Church of Christ the King, he created the Stations of the Cross and paintings of St. Wenceslas and the Virgin Mary.

The dedication to Jesus Christ the King was completely new at that time. The feast of Jesus Christ the King was introduced by Pope Pius XI in 1925 with the encyclical Quas primas as a thanksgiving for peace after World War I and at the same time as a response to the rise of secularism, nationalism, and totalitarian ideologies. It was intended to remind people that true authority and lasting peace stem from Christ's reign over individuals, families, and states.

At the end of World War II, Vysočany became the target of Allied air raids on local industrial plants. The explosions shook the church, some windows were shattered, and the interior suffered minor damage. During the bombing, the church also served a solemn but sad purpose – it was used to store the bodies of victims from the factories and surrounding buildings. After the war, parish life resumed, but the building remained hidden among the blocks of houses, as if it wanted to remain inconspicuous even in the new era.

During the communist era, church activities were not particularly encouraged, and the Church of Christ the King operated rather quietly, without major public events, which further enhanced its "hidden" character. For many years, many residents of the surrounding streets had no idea that there was a church behind the passageway of the apartment building.

It was only after 1989 that it could open more to the public, and the need for extensive repairs began to be discussed. In the years after 2000, the Prague 9 district, together with the capital city, financed the replacement of the electrical wiring from 1930, the repair of the perimeter walls, and the installation of new stylish windows. In 2023, it received a new copper roof, repaired gutters, and drainage so that it could continue to withstand the ravages of time, and at the same time, it was designated as the "Church of Christ the King" for the first time in history with a new inscription.