Croatology, Vol. 8 No. 1-2, 2017.
Review article
Marica Stanković – prison records from Diary
Petar Bilobrk
Abstract
Guided by apostolic zeal in spreading Christ's Kingdom, Marica Stanković much traveled and wrote, held numerous lectures and everywhere witnessed in favor of Christ. The Pope Pius XII awarded her, in 1943, the Church medal "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice - For the Church and the Pope."
In addition to numerous articles that she had written in many magazines, she also published books, meditations and other texts, through which she thus left to us a testimony of her Catholic educational work especially among female youth. The vast majority of her texts were not published during her life, especially the ones that were written in the aftermath of World War II. It was not before the collapse of the communist regime that the works of Marica Stanković became available to us, some typed while the others were still available as manuscripts; thus giving us an additional initiative to explore the written word of this teacher, the prominent Catholic activist. The entries in her diary, dating back to her penal days in the Pozega prison, left rich heritage and memories of the severity of torture that the prisoners were subjected to, the prisoners jailed due to their political and/or religious beliefs.
Due to her Christian beliefs and the great educational impact she had on the younger population, the communist authorities sentenced her to a five year imprisonment, which she was forced to serve from 1947 to 1952 in the Pozega camp. During the trial, she bravely cried "Long live Christ the King, long live the Pope, lived Christian Europe!". Along with the girls who were also condemned and prosecuted there, after having heard the final verdict, all solemnly sang: "Christus vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus imperat.”
Keywords
Marica Stanković; diary; prison; faith; joy; serenity
Hrčak ID:
204351
URI
Publication date:
30.7.2018.
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