The study deals with the social and charitable activities of the first four bishops of the Diocese of České Budějovice, Jan Prokop Schaaffgotsche (1785–1813), Konstantin Ernst Růžička (1815–1845), Josef Ondřej Lindauer (1846–1850) and Jan Valerián Jirsík (1851–1883). Caring for those in need was a prominent feature of their priestly and later episcopal careers. The study demonstrates their commitment to the gradual integration of social and charity activities within the diocese administrative system. It mainly emphasizes their positive role in the implementation of certain social project – the largest of which were related to care for ill and disabled people in the bishop’s seat of České Budějovice. The study also discusses their life preferences and activities reflecting both the contemporary environment of the religious-political system of Josephinism and the spiritual formation that obviously implemented certain ideas of the Catholic Enlightenment, specifically the ideas of Antonio Ludovico Muratori.
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