The project of restoration of St. John of Nepomuk in Divina was started in 2016 and was completed in June 2017. Partners, who were addressed to cooperate, have either some connection to St. John of Nepomuk or to Slovakia. The project was carried out under auspices of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Slovakia, and was also honoured by patronage of His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, the King of Cambodia and His Majesty Simeon II., the last Tsar of Bulgaria. Along with the Žilina Bishop’s Office, the project donors are: His Royal Highness Franz, Duke of Bavaria, The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, The Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, Metropolitan Chapter House of St. Vitus in Prague, which is the owner of the saint’s grave and the city of Nepomuk – the birthplace of St. John of Nepomuk. Out of domestic partners, the project was supported by municipalities of Divina, Divinka–Lalinok and Svederník. The statue was uncovered on its new stand on Friday 2 June 2017 by Joachim Bleicker, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Slovakia together with Emil Molko, Mayor of Divina and Marek Sobola, author of the project. Subsequently, it was blessed by Mons. Tomáš Galis, Bishop of Žilina. It happened more than 190 years since it was restored after being damaged by a flood. Besides the Bishop, Ambassador of Germany and the Head of the Bishop Office, the ceremony was attended also by invited partners. The uncovering and blessing of the statue were followed by a vernissage presenting all partners of the monument restoration on panels.
In the National competition Phoenix – National Cultural Monument of the year 2017 (Slovak: Fénix – Kultúrna pamiatka roka), The Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic awarded the author of the project Marek Sobola with the Honourable recognition for exceptional realization of the restoration project of the Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in the village of Divina.
