Pavao Žanić

Born in 1918 in Kaštel Novi (present-day Croatia), he attended primary school in his hometown from 1924 to 1929, and graduated from the seminary high school in Split in 1937. He continued his philosophical and theological studies in Split from 1937 to 1941 and was ordained a priest by the local bishop Kvirin Bonefačić in Split, on June 1, 1941.[1]

He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1941. His first assignment was as a parish priest at Šolta. In 1952 he became administrator of Rogotin. In 1959 he was named pastor if the /cathedral parish of Saint Domnius. Ten years later, he was made rector of the minor seminary, where he also taught French. Žanić was fluent in French and Italian.[1]

In December 1970, he was appointed coadjutor of Mostar-Duvno and titular bishop of Edistiana. He was consecrated bishop on May 2, 1971 in Mostar by Bishop Petar Čule. In September 1980, he became the bishop of Mostar-Duvno.[2] He also served as apostolic administrator of Dubrovnok from November 1988 to January 1990.

Žanić was actively involved in the completion of the Cathedral of Mary Mother of the Church in Mostar, and served for many years as president of the Yugoslav Bishops' Conference Council for the Family. In 1983 he visited diocesan priests serving as missionaries in Africa. He also led pilgrimages to Lourdes and Fatima, established a monthly diocesan periodical, and constructed a retirement home for priests.[3]

In 1984 he led a symposium on the historical and pastoral significance of the Diocese of Trebinje–Mrkan and was instrumental in the Holy See's designating the Church of the Birth of Mary in Trebinje a cathedral.[3]

On the occasion of the Golden Anniversary of his ordination, Pope John Paul II sent to him:

We are aware of the hardships and troubles of your pastoral ministry that have made your burden even more bitter, however, you have never been deprived of fearless faith; indeed, your love for everyone, as well as your great devotion and your diligence in choosing and educating young men who are called to the Lord’s service have grown to a great extent.[3]

For centuries parishes in Bosnia-Herzegovina were administered by the Franciscan order under an understanding reached with the Ottoman sultan.[4]

After Herzegovina became part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Pope Leo XIII took steps to establish dioceses and appoint local bishops. As part of re-establishing normal church structures, the bishops worked to transfer parishes from the Franciscans to the diocesan clergy, but the friars resisted. In the 1940s, the two Franciscan provinces still held 63 of 79 parishes in the dioceses of Vrhbosna and Mostar.[5]

In June 1975 Pope Paul VI issued Romanis Pontificibus, a papal decree indicating which parishes the Franciscans were allowed to retain and which to turn over to diocesan administration. Beginning in 1976 Bishop Žanić started to implement the decree. Full implementation was still being worked on as late as December 1998.[6]

In early 1981, Franciscans Ivica Vego and Ivan Prusina refused to relinquish their posts, causing some controversy. Žanić declared them suspended and sought to have them expelled from the order. By June six young people whom the two friars had been counseling claimed to have experienced apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. The reports attracted a number of pilgrims to the village of Medjugorje. On 11 January 1982, Žanić established a commission to look into the alleged apparition. Three days later, three of the seers reported that the Madonna had said that the bishop had been too harsh with the Franciscans.[4]

In April 1986, Žanić submitted a negative report of the apparitions to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, at the time Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican.[7][8] By then pilgrims were arriving in Medjugorje from far beyond the diocese. The CDF recommended that the Yugoslavian Bishops Conference take up the inquiry.[9]

In July, Žanić forbade any priests who organized pilgrimages or came there ascribing a supernatural character to the events, to celebrate Mass in his diocese, and this until the Commission of the Bishops’ Conference completed its inquiry.[10]

On 10 April 1991, the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference concurred with Žanić's earlier finding of Non constat de supernaturalitate stating that: "On the basis of the investigations so far it can not be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations."[11]

Bishop Žanić retired in 1993 at age 75 and was succeeded by Bishop Ratko Perić.[2] Žanić died at the Clinical Hospital Centre Firule in Split, Croatia aged 81 on 11 January 2000. He was buried two day later at a family cemetery in Kaštel Novi, in accordance with his will.[12]

• Catholic Church response to the Medjugorje apparitions

Notes

Web-sites

• "Mostar: 12. obljetnica smrti biskupa Pavla Žanića". Biskupije Mostar-Duvno i Trebinje-Mrkan. Retrieved 27 July 2018.