Original scientific paper

Being Priest in Strossmayer's Times

Drago Iličić ; Antun Gustav Matoš Elementary School of Vikovci, Vinkovci, Croatia

Abstract

Nearly every well-educated layman in Croatia and the region considers Strossmayer a Maecenas, a politician, an orator and an educator. Again, every student of divinity in a Roman-Catholic seminary considers Strossmayer an exceptionally active participant during the First Vatican Council. They all know that Strossmayer was a bishop. It is this service that has systematically been neglected, in both spoken and written debates.
The aim of this paper is to approach Strossmayer as a bishop through his written exchanges with the clergy. His writings appear in the form of reflections, summons, initiatives and decisions sent to the episcopal clergy as memos and pastoral letters. He had been writing these regularly during Lent, but also in special occasions, as after certain canon visitations or as a reflection on a certain problem or topic. This paper examines Strossmayer’s bishop’s service through his relations with the clergy, with whom he had communicated often and well trying to raise their intellectual-spiritual awareness. By analyzing memos and pastoral letters, it is easy to define the criteria that Strossmayer had thought every priest should fulfill. These criteria could and should be valid even today. Therefore, when celebrating the Year of clergy this paper points at the importance of sacerdotal vocation and the necessity for constant care for its quality that can be seen in Strossmayer’s efforts.

Keywords

bishop Strossmayer; clergy; memos; pastoral letters; study; spirituality

Hrčak ID:

59216

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/59216

Publication date:

4.10.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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