Roman Catholicism in Croatia
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Roman Catholicism in Croatia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.
There are an estimated 3.8 million baptised Roman Catholics in Croatia, roughly 85% of the population. The national sanctuary of Croatia is in Marija Bistrica. The patron of Croatia is Saint Joseph since the Croatian Parliament declared him to be in 1687.[1]
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[edit] History
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[edit] The Church in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
The Austro-Hungarian Empire signed a concordat with the Holy See in 1855 which regulated the Catholic Church within the empire.[2]
[edit] The Church in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
In Yugoslavia, the Croatian bishops were part of the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia.
The Serbian Orthodox Church acted as a de-facto national church of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During this period, a Serbian Orthodox church was built on the almost entirely Catholic island of Vis and a part of the local population began converting.[3]
[edit] The Church in the Independent State of Croatia
In 1941, the Independent State of Croatia was established by the Ustaša puppet regime with Ante Pavelić as its leader. The Independent State of Croatia was one of several Nazi puppet states. The Ustaša regime pursued a genocidal policy against the Serbs (who were Eastern Orthodox Christians), Jews and Roma.
The creation of the Independent State of Croatia was welcomed by very many Roman Catholic priests and the entire hierarchy of the Church. In the aftermath of the declaration of independence on April 10, 1941, the vast majority of leading churchmen viewed the rise of the Croatian puppet state in the context of a rebirth of a Catholic regime intent on following what were viewed as Christ's laws. At first, archibishop Alojzije Stepinac was an active supporter of the Ustaša regime headed by Ante Pavelić, praying for the well-being of the puppet state.
[edit] The Church in communist Yugoslavia
In 1945, the retired bishop of Dubrovnik Josip Marija Carević was murdered by Yugoslav authorities.[4] Bishop Josip Srebrnić was sent to jail for two months.[5] In 1946, the communist regime introduced the Law on State Registry Books which allowed the confiscation of church registries and other documents.[6] On January 31, 1952 the communist regime banned religious education in public schools.[7] That year the regime also expelled the Catholic Faculty of Theology from the University of Zagreb, to which it was not restored until democratic changes in 1991.[8][9]
In 1984, the Catholic Church held a National Eucharistic Congress in Marija Bistrica.[10] The central mass held on September 9 was attended by 400,000 people, including 1100 priests, 35 bishops and archbishops, as well as five cardinals. The mass was led by cardinal Franz König, a friend of Aloysius Stepinac from their early studies.
[edit] The Church in the Republic of Croatia
With Croatian democratization and independence, the Croatian Bishops' Conference was formed.
[edit] Hierarchy
Within Croatia the hierarchy consists of:
The bishops are organized into the Croatian Conference of Bishops, which is presided by the Archbishop of Zagreb.
The Bishopric of Srijem in Serbia is a suffragen of the Djakovo-Osijek Diocese.
There are also historical bishoprics, including:
[edit] Franciscans
There are three Franciscan provinces in the country:
- the Franciscan Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius based in Zagreb,
- the Franciscan Province of Saint Jerome based in Zadar and
- the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer based in Split.
[edit] Places of Pilgrimage of the Croats
[edit] Notable people
- Franjo Šeper
- Alojzije Stepinac
- Josip Juraj Strossmayer
- Juraj Dobrila
- Franjo Kuharić (Cardinal before Josip Bozanić)
[edit] References
- ^ Relief of Saint Joseph placed in Parliament
- ^ Ljiljana Dobrovšak. Ženidbeno (bračno) pravo u 19. stoljeću u Hrvatskoj
- ^ History of the island of Vis
- ^ Religious Communities in Croatia from 1945 to 1991
- ^ Akmadža, Miroslav. Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj i komunistički režim 1945 - 1966.. Rijeka: Otokar Keršovani, 2004. (pg. 69)
- ^ Miroslav Akmadža. Oduzimanje crkvenih matičnih knjiga u Hrvatskoj u vrijeme komunizma
- ^ Akmadža, Miroslav. Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj i komunistički režim 1945-1966.. Biblioteka Svjedočansta. Rijeka, 2004. (pg. 93)
- ^ Goldstein, Ivo. Croatia: A History . McGill Queen's University Press, 1999. (pg. 169)
- ^ Catholic Faculty of Theology History
- ^ How Gospa destroyed the SFRY, Globus
