Former Grand Prior of the Order of Malta Karel Paar dies in Prague at 91
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Karel Eduard Paar — a descendant of one of Europe's oldest aristocratic families and former Grand Prior of the Czech Grand Priory of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta — has died in Prague at the age of 91. He passed away on Friday morning at the Hospital of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles Borromeo in Prague after a long illness, the order's Chancellor, Julian Chadwick, announced.
"Through his quiet and modest life, he embodied the virtues of a true Christian knight. With his passing, the Order has become poorer," Chadwick said.
Paar was born on 4 January 1934, the second child of Prince Alfons and Countess Sophie. The Paar family had lived in Bechyně in South Bohemia since the 18th century, where they owned a castle. After the communists seized power, the castle was confiscated and the family moved to Switzerland — to the very place where Karel himself was already undergoing medical treatment. In 1947 his sister, brother and grandmother joined him there.
In the late 1950s, Paar joined the Knights of Malta, an order in which his father and elder brother had already served. From 1962 to 1978 he worked in the order's hospitaller service and also sat on its Sovereign Council in Rome. He was elected Grand Prior twice — from 1981 to 1988 and from 2004 to 2011.
"My father enrolled both me and my brother in the order. But it was only later that I understood what the order actually does, and I began helping the sick. It turned out to be truly close to my heart — it seems it was simply meant to be," he recalled.
He was able to return to his homeland, Czechoslovakia, only in 1985 — secretly, posing as a tourist from Vienna. The family returned for good in 1990: the confiscated castle in Bechyně was recovered and later sold. From 2004, when Paar was elected Grand Prior of the Czech Grand Priory, he lived in Prague, supported the order's work and worked with young people with disabilities.
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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz
