by Fr Rastislav Hamráček, SDB
Ernest Macák was born in 1920 in Vištuk. He made his first Salesian profession in 1936 and was ordained priest in 1946. He worked with young people and young Salesians. In 1950 he was deported with all other Salesians to the concentration camp for religious Podolínec. Here he lived in deep fraternity. He escaped from the camp and began to work clandestinely and to organize secretly the religious life of the young confreres.
In 1952, the communist secret police arrested him and he suffered harsh persecution, physical and psychological. To avoid having to disclose the names of other religious Fr Macák pretended to be mad, so much so that in 1955 he was classified as "insane" and released from prison. For the next 13 years he lived with his parents, working on the farm and continuing to pretend to be mad. Only seven people knew the truth. Meanwhile, he secretly wrote his memoirs.
In 1968, with the permission of the State, he reached Rome and joined his brother who was also a Salesian priest. Here Fr Macák abandoned his "game" and returned to community life. He collaborated with Vatican Radio for several years, preparing a programme for young people - with over 600 editions - and became involved in the apostolate of the press. He also worked in the Pastoral Care of Slovaks who had migrated to Switzerland and in 1990, when the regime fell, he returned to his homeland.
He was esteemed by all his confreres and at the age of 73 he became superior of the Province of Slovakia. His last few years were spent in a nursing home run by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
His funeral will take place on Friday 21 October in the Basilica of Mary of Sorrows in Šaštín (11:00 a.m. local time). The celebration will be presided over by Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský of Bratislava.
