The Journal Blagovest from 1946 to 1950

An example of the status of the Catholic Church and of religious publications in Communist Yugoslavia

Abstract

In the aftermath of World War II the Catholic Church in Yugoslavia found itself in an extremely unenviable position. The totalitarian Communist regime introduced many repressive measures in an attempt to restrain the influence of the Catholic Church on the people. Hence the magazine Blagovest was among the rare publications to be issued in Yugoslavia. This article describes the status of the Catholic Church in the Yugoslav Communist regime. Also, it examines texts and messages which appeared in the journal Blagovest during the first five years after the war (1946–1950). The article presents technical, graphics and editorial data, describes the appearance of the journal, style of writing, number of pages, price, editors, rhythm and place of publication as well as a series of changes that took place after the war.