Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/ccp.45.88.7
An Attempt of Expropriation and Renovation of the Benedictine Nunnery and Church of St Mary in Zadar (1943 – 1970)
Tado Oršolić
; Institute of Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
Abstract
Benedictine nunnery and church of St Mary in Zadar were among the last historical and cultural monuments that were renovated after the bombing of Zadar in the Second World War. Based on the archival documents, the author analyses the renovation of the nunnery and church of St Mary in Zadar. Immediately after the ending of the War, in 1945 new communist regime did not succeed to expropriate all the possessions and nunnery of St Mary, and putting them under provisional state management. Since 1948 the management of the Yugoslav (Croatian) academy of sciences and arts started preparations for the renovation of the nunnery and church, this renovation was completed by 1959, and mostly financed by funds from the Academy. In 1960 Benedictine nuns wrote an appeal to the National Committee of the municipality of Zadar, but the answer was negative since according to the urbanistic plan this location was prevised for the building of four new museums. Because of this, Benedictine nuns, together with the Diocesan Ordinariate, represented by – at that time young – auxiliary bishop Msgr Marijan Oblak, started long negotiations with municipal and republic authorities in order to achieve a compromise solution regarding the renovation of the nunnery. Unfortunately, negotiation with the municipal authorities was not successful, so this question of the Benedictine nunnery renovation had to be further discussed at the highest level between ecclesiastical institutions (Episcopal Conference and Episcopate of the Social Federative Republic of Yugoslavia) and republic institutions (Executive Council of the Socialistic Republic of Croatia). Moreover, even the Vatican diplomacy, that is pope Paul VI, had to intervene to stimulate these processes. After years of negotiations with municipal and republic authorities, with constant intermediation of the Academy and its Institute in Zadar, the situation regarding the renovation improved and the final agreement was settled in 1965 (i.e., 1967). This agreement regarding the renovation of the nunnery included the establishment of a permanent exhibition of the sacral art within the monastery complex. Nuns returned to the renovated nunnery in 1970, that is after 26 years of “exile”. Finally, the building of the museum for the permanent exhibition of sacral art was finished in 1972, and the exhibition was opened for the public in 1976.
Keywords
Benedictine nunnery of St May; Archdiocesan Ordinariate in Zadar; Academy; National Liberation Committee Zadar; bishop Marijan Oblak.
Hrčak ID:
267571
URI
Publication date:
18.12.2021.
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