We knew that the Church was under threat and that we had to protect it. We told ourselves that without priests, we’d be beaten with caps
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Emil Soukup was born on 30 June 1939 in Pilsen to Emilia Soukupová, née Červené, and Karel Soukup. He grew up together with his three brothers Vladimír, Karel and Jan. His father took over his grandfather’s tailor’s shop, but lost it after 1950 as part of the nationalisation. After that he was employed as a clerk in a household goods store. Mum Emilie Soukupová worked as a saleswoman at Svobodů on the Republic Square, later in the Prior department store. Emil Soukup experienced the liberation of Pilsen on May 6, 1945 and the last firefights between German and American soldiers right in front of their house. In 1945, he attended the church general school of the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Pilsen. After the persecution of the nuns by the communist regime, he continued his studies at the school in Podmostní Street, then in Komenský Street and spent the last year on a one-year apprenticeship course. From 1954 he attended an eleven-year high school, today’s Masaryk Grammar School. From 1957 he studied at the Roman Catholic Cyril and Methodius Divinity Faculty in Prague, based in Litoměřice, where he was ordained a priest on 24 June 1962 and received state approval. On September 1, 1962, he started working as a chaplain in Domažlice, after which he completed a two-year basic military service as a radio operator in Jičín in October 1962. State Security tried to enlist his cooperation during the military service and afterwards, which he reportedly refused. From 1964 he continued his clerical service in Domažlice, where he experienced the occupation of Czechoslovakia after four years. From 1969-1974 he worked in the parish in Lomnica nad Lužnicí, and from 1974 in Český Krumlov. From 1972-1982 he was a member of the Association of Catholic Clergy Pacem in Terris, where he held various positions within the South Bohemian Region. In 1993, he was accepted into the newly established diocese of Plzeň and became parish priest in Domažlice. From 1 September 2001 to the end of June 2019 he served in the cathedral parish of Plzeň. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him a papal chaplain on 1 September 2009. Emil Soukup returned to Domažlice on 30 June 2019. At the time of the filming (2023) he lived in Pilsen.
