Professional paper
A brave Croatian Military Chaplain: Fr. Mijo Jurić in 1915–1918 .
Miha Šimac
; University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Theology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
Based on the recently discovered documents in the War Archives in Vienna, the paper thoroughly presents the life of a well-known Croatian priest Mijo Jurić (1883–1961) in the course of the period during the First World War. Mijo Jurić, whose work and operation during the aforementioned war have been vaguely described until now, was first faced with war as a young chaplain in Pakrac. No later than the end of 1914, he was named a military chaplain of reserve status by the military authorities. He was mobilized in February 1915 and assigned to the Croatian Honvéd Infantry Regiment No. 25. Due to his commitment, he soon gained admiration and respect from soldiers and officers. He did not hide in the background but rather joined the soldiers in their misery in the first lines of trenches, where he comforted them and provided pastoral care, which was the main mission of military chaplains. His efforts were too strenuous; therefore, he fell ill at the beginning of 1916. He was treated in various hospitals, then he returned to the front, continuing his work in the Honvéd Infantry Regiments No. 26 and 27. Regardless of his location, he gained the trust of the soldiers and the respect of the officers. Moreover, he was awarded different medals for bravery by the authorities. At the end of the war, he served on the Italian front, from where he returned home and made a good impression
on people, regardless of the location of his work and operation.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
251787
URI
Publication date:
12.8.2020.
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