La première femme prêtre s’est éteinte

Ludmila Javorová, who identified as the first woman priest, died on September 17 at the age of 94 in a hospice in Rajhrad, Czech Republic.

Javorová stated she was secretly ordained on December 28, 1970, by Bishop Felix Maria Davídek. This occurred while clandestine Catholic structures operated outside the official Church during the communist regime. While the New York Times reported in 1991 that three Czech women had received secret ordinations, Javorová's specific account of these events has not been corroborated by an independent outside source. However, Présence info notes that her story remained consistent for decades and was never denied.

Ecclesiastical authorities have focused their debate on the canonical validity of the ordination rather than whether it took place. Javorová later collaborated with Sister Miriam Therese Winter to write her life story, published in 2001 as Out of the Depths.