"Well, I would probably say that despite everything I told you here, I wasn't unhappy. I was not unhappy. I simply dedicated myself to God - and that is how I took everything. I'm... I can just say that through all the... there was always something good everywhere. For example, when we were at work, it was in Germany where we were there, it was Wienerneustadt, I was assigned to work there, we worked there in the forest. And there was a church next door and we had a day off on Sunday, so I went to church there. Then they asked me. I kind of had to run away early in the morning because I wasn't at breakfast anymore to get to the mass; there were two of us. Therefore, the women asked us what we were. Therefore, I told them how it is, did I not. I wanted to go to church, so I came here, right? However, I had to go on time, early, so I did not have any breakfast. But, they immediately took care of me: 'Come to me, I will give you lunch.' And so on."
"Yes, then there was the Colorado beetle affair. The Americans threw it down there, it just spread all over, and we were supposed to go looking for the beetles. We were not dressed properly for it, so we looked around the attic for the kind of clothes that were there. So we were dressed as for a masquerade ball, we went to look for beetles. They put a stick in our hand, there was a field just up the hill, we went looking for beetles, and there was just nothing. We did not find any. We were all dirty above and then we were saying, 'Please, while we are here,' there was a spa place at the top, 'can we have a look at that too?' And he didn't want to, and we went there anyway. They were going around us asking what we were, how dirty we looked. 'What are you?' Well, we said: 'We are the national Mnichotechna enterprise.' Well, fine, that is how we were, we sang along the way: 'We're walking, we're walking, and we were looking around the field to see if we saw any beetles anywhere. They were nowhere to be found, probably flew somewhere to another territory.'"
"Well, I thought about it, that I probably need to change it, that I don't see it, the meaning of life, precisely in that. And I wrote about it to my sister who was a nun, yeah. And, she immediately wrote back to me: 'Look, you could be a priest.' I said to myself: 'Me being a priest? Could a boy from the village become a priest? Really? Well, that's probably not possible.' 'Oh, yeah, look, you can be a priest. Go and have a look in Písek, because there is a school there for older boys who would like to graduate at the secondary school (gymnasium).' It was here in Písek. 'And go there. I think it would be good for you.' After all, I told myself that I could look there. I got on my bike in Černošice and rode my bike to Písek. Well, there was a matron there; he received me in the morning. There were twenty students in Písek who wanted to study at the gymnasium or later become priests. Therefore, the superior received me very nicely and talked to me for a long time. Then he said: 'Well, I think we could accept you here too. However, I still have to consult with the other two. I'll write you a letter.' So I waited and suddenly the letter came that I was accepted and invited to come and study."
Josef Xaver Kobza was born on February 27, 1921 in Herbortice. His parents were local housekeepers, he had two brothers and five sisters. After leaving primary school, he trained as a barber with his brother in Černošice, but he later decided to become a priest. He went to study in Písek, from where he was sent to forced labor in Germany during the war. After the war, he finished school, did the novitiate and took his vows. As part of action K, he was interned in a monastery in Hejnice. He refused to give up his spiritual calling and was sent to the PTP units. He was arrested for illegally gathering with other Christians and accused of subverting the republic. He spent a year in prison, after which he was released on amnesty. Then he worked as a barber, but secretly got ordained as a priest. He got his first parish and celebrated Mass at the age of fifty. Josef Xaver Kobza died on November 7, 2020.
