Background
Trcka was born on 6 July 1886 in the small town of Frydlant nad Ostravici in the present day Czechoslovakian Republic.
Trcka was born on 6 July 1886 in the small town of Frydlant nad Ostravici in the present day Czechoslovakian Republic.
He was the seventh, and youngest, child of Tomas Trcka and Frantiska Sterbova Trcka. Like many families of that time and region, the Trckas were devout Catholics. After making his first profession on 25 August 1904, he returned to Obořiště in his homeland so that he could pursue the required studies in philosophy and theology.
Eastern Rite Catholics were often overlooked in number and importance, not only by Orthodox believers but also by Roman Catholic Christians even though both groups are in communion with the Bishop of Rome.
With the Communist take over of Czechoslovakia, a period of religious persecution began and, in 1950, all religious communities were suppressed by the government. On the evening of 13 April (which happened to be Holy Thursday) Father Trcka was arrested along with several other Redemptorists.
He was put on trial and accused of trying to obtain false papers in order to flee the country and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. During his imprisonment, Father Dominick, like many other Catholic priests and religious, endured both torture and interrogation.
However, being one of the Church leaders, it seems that he was made to bear more frequent abuse.
One of his confreres, who was released, wrote that they were subjected to intense light 24 hours a day. On 23 March 1959, he died as the result of pneumonia, having been placed in solitary confinement as a punishment for singing Christmas carols. Father Dominick was declared a martyr by Pope John Paul II on 24 April 2001 and beatified by the same pope on 4 November 2001.