Preliminary communication
LUCAS PAPAFAVA BISHOP OF ŠIBENIK (1912–1918) AND HVAR (1918–1925)
Joško BRACANOVIĆ
Abstract
Lucas (Luka) Papafava was born on 7th February 1851. Elementary school and first several classes of secondary school he had finished in Hvar, but he completed high school in Split. Afterwards Papafava studied theology in Zadar, where he was ordained on 28th October 1874. Soon after, on 8th December he served his first Mass in Hvar,
where he became a priest of Hvar’s cathedral and headmaster of the private seminary. In 1879 he was moved in Supetar to become vicar, in June of 1880 he was appointed to the position of parish manager, and in 1883 he was confirmed as a pastor. In 1898 he became honorary canon. From 1907 he performed duty of pro-synodal examiner, judge and church delegate in the school board of the Brač district. On 27th November 1911 Lucas Papafava was appointed to the duty of bishop of Šibenik, and he was ordained on 11th February 1912 in Šibenik’s cathedral. During his episcopate in Šibenik he was
particularly active in organization of Catholic action, he has founded Društvo svećenika klanjalaca [Society of worshiping priests], and he had some success with young people regarding their activities in ecclesiastical societies. At the beginning of the World War One Papafava allowed service in Italian in Šibenik’s cathedral but soon after he withdrew his decision. Because of this Italian supporters insisted on his removal to another Dalmatian diocese. Thus, in 1918 it was decided to move Papafava in Hvar, where he succeeded Jordan Zaninović, and became 52nd bishop of Hvar. He addressed
believers in his new bishopric already on 10th July 1918, but he came to Hvar on 19 January 1919. At that time Italians already had occupied island of Hvar, and because of that many Croatian clerics flew away from Hvar in January of 1919. This occupation ended on 18th April 1921, and on 22nd April 1921 bishop Papafava issued epistle in which he gave his view on the recent occupation and problems that stood in front of new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It seems that soon after he became very ill, since from that time capitulary dean Anthony (Antun) Dobronić started to preform duty of provicar. From Papafava’s death up to the appointment of a new bishop Bishop’s ordinariate was managed by capitulary vicar John (Ivo) Bojanić. Lucas Papafava died
on 15th July 1925, and he was buried in the family tomb at the cemetery of Hvar. During his episcopate he was well known by his polemic writings, among which one has to note debates with Natko Nodilo and bishop of Cremona Geremia Bonomemelli. Even his
epistles were written in such polemic way. Among his other writings there are preserved a book »Bartul Durildana – svećenik po volji Srdca Isusova« [Bartul Durildana – priest according the will of Sacred Heart] from 1893 and speech in occurrence of the death of bishop Carev from 1901. From his writings it is clear that Papafava was equally good in Croatian and Italian.
Keywords
Lucas (Luka) Papafava; bishops of Šibenik; bishops of Hvar; Italian supporters; first Italian occupation; Natko Nodilo
Hrčak ID:
108769
URI
Publication date:
26.9.2013.
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