Ivan Merz’s Activity in the Croatian Catholic Movement

Abstract

The Croatian Catholic Movement and its initiator and founder Bishop Antun Mahnič had a strong influence on the calling of the young Ivan Merz while he was still attending the Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, Austria in 1914. Already as a student Ivan Merz became acquainted with Bishop Mahnič’s idea through his high school teacher Ljubomir Maraković, whose guidance helped Merz in choosing the direction his life would take. Although he would later disagree with his ideational moderator due to their differences regarding the Croatian Catholic Movement (CCM), Merz did not lose sight of Maraković’s personal contribution to the organization of the CCM. The authors availed themselves of archival material in order to examine the manner in which Ivan Merz understood and evaluated the Croatian Catholic Movement from the time he joined the CCM up until his departure from the ideas of the Croatian Catholic Seniorate, the leadership of the CCM. It was due to the politicization of the CCM which had its source in the ranks of the Seniorate, that Ivan Merz whole–heartedly stood up for the depoliticization of the CCM. He is to be credited with introducing the Catholic Action Movement to Croatia.