Brno. On Saturday, August 15, a new statue of the Jesuit Martin Středa (Martinus Stredonius) was unveiled as part of the titular celebration of the Jesuit church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The statue, blessed by the diocesan bishop Vojtěch Cikrle, is located near the entrance to the church and was created as part of the project, by which the city wants to commemorate its important personalities.

Fr. Martin Středa (1587-1649) was a great spiritual authority of his time, twice he led the Czech Jesuit province as its provincial, twice he was the rector of Klementinum in Prague, twice the rector of the collegium in Brno, where he also died. During the siege of the city by the Swedes at the end of the Thirty Years' War, he was the spiritual support of the city's defenders. He is revered as venerable. His remains are stored in the crypt of the Jesuit church in Brno.