Ivan Šarić (27 September 1871 – 16 July 1960) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest who became the archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vrhbosna (also known as the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sarajevo) is an ecclesiastical archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its territorial remit includes the eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entiret ...

in 1922. In 1940, Šarić was tasked by the national bishops' conference to put together the first modern Croatian translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. A benefactor of the Bosnian Croat population, Šarić became a controversial figure because of his pro- Ustasha activities and rhetoric, including his support for forcible conversions to Catholicism inside the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Early life and career

Ivan Šarić was born to a Bosnian Croat family near

Travnik Travnik is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, west of Sarajevo. As of 2 ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 27 September 1871. He attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Travnik from 1882 to 1890, entered the seminary in Travnik, and completed his studies in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

in 1894. He was made a priest in the Vrhbosna Archbishopric on 22 July 1894. He worked as a catechist at the Institute of St. Vinko in Sarajevo from 1894. Two years later, he was named a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of Vrhbosna. Between 1896 and 1908 he edited the ''Vrhbosna'' newspaper, and, for a time, ''Balkan'' newspaper. In 1898 the Seminary Faculty in Zagreb awarded him a doctorate. On 27 June 1908, Šarić was named bishop-coadjutor of Vrhbosna and the titular bishop of Caesaropolitanus. On 28 October 1908, Šarić gave poet

Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević (; 17 February 1865 – 29 October 1908) was a Croatian poet. His reflexive poetry, reaching its zenith in the 1890s, was a turning point that ushered modern themes in Croatian poetry. Early life Kranjčevi ...

the last rites before his death on the following day. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June 1914, Šarić helped inspire anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo by composing anti-Serb verse anthems in which he described Serbs as "vipers" and "ravening wolves". On 2 May 1922, Šarić was made the archbishop and metropolitan of Vrhbosna. He was a pioneer of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, I ...

(a project of Pope Pius XI for the inclusion of the laity in the hierarchical apostolate of the Church), and took particular interest in the Catholic press. In 1922 he started and for a time edited the weekly ''Nedjelja'' (''Sunday''), which was banned by the authorities of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

, then renamed ''Križ'' (''The Cross''), and finally renamed ''Katolički Tjednik'' (''The Catholic Weekly''). He printed the ''Vrhbosanske savremene knjižice'', small books about the contemporary affairs of the archbishopric, a total of 55 issues up to 1941. He wrote twenty other assorted printed works. In 1925, a year in which the Catholic Church celebrated the

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and the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom, Šarić led the Second National Pilgrimage of Yugoslavia to the Vatican. Šarić invested much effort into the financing of two seminaries, and encouraged the work of Caritas and missionary activities. He attempted to attract new male orders into the diocese (the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

were already there). He took much interest in the national activities of the Bosnian Croats, and he helped the Croatian cultural society

Napredak Napredak may refer to: * HKD Napredak, cultural society of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina *FK Napredak Kruševac, Serbian football club * FK Napredak Aleksinac, Serbian football club * FK Napredak Banatska Topola, Serbian football club *NK SAŠK N ...

War time activities

Šarić was the archbishop of Vrhbosna (with see in Sarajevo) during

, when

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

became part of the

. Šarić used the Catholic newspapers of the Sarajevo diocese he headed as an outlet for his political musings as well as his amateur poetry. He expressed goodwill and enthusiasm towards the new

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

leadership of

Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...

in the early months of 1941. This piece appeared a month after the Ustaše took power:

"I was with our Ustaše in North and South America. The bishops there, Americans, Germans, Irish, Slovaks and Spaniards, with whom I came into contact, all praised the Croat Ustaše as good, self-sacrificing believers, as godly and patriotic people … How many times have I heard the Ustaše ask where they would be without their priests!
...I sang with the Ustaše with all my heart and voice the song 'Our Beautiful Homeland', all with big tears in our eyes. And with eager hope in its beautiful, its sweet and its golden freedom, lifting ourselves upwards to God, we prayed to the Almighty to guide and protect Ante Pavelić for the liberation of Croatia. The good God heard and, behold, he answered our cries and supplications."Pavelic Papers (2)
, krajinaforce.com; accessed 30 November 2014.

In late April 1941, he penned a eulogy to Pavelić, ''Kada Sunca Sija'' (''When the Sun Shines''), and had it published by his diocesan periodical ''Vrhbosna'', which included the lines: ''"For God himself was at thy side, thou good and strong one .. So that thou mightest perform thy deeds for the Homeland... And against the Jews, who had all the money … Who wanted to sell our souls … the miserable traitors … Dr Ante Pavelić! The dear name! Croatia has therein a treasure from Heaven"''. Šarić's own diocesan newspaper published these words by one Pitar Pajić: ''"Until now God spoke through papal encyclicals, sermons, the Christian press … And they were deaf. Now God has decided to use other methods. He will prepare missions! World missions! They will be upheld not by priests but by army commanders led by Hitler. The sermons will be heard with the help of cannon, machine guns, tanks and bombers."'' Šarić conducted the funeral for bishop

Alojzije Mišić Alojzije Mišić (10 November 1859 – 26 March 1942) was a Bosnian Croat Franciscan and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and the apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1912 until his death in ...

on 29 October 1942 three days after Mišić's death. The archbishop subsequently appointed Petar Čule as vicar for the diocese of Mostar-Duvno. Upon this recommendation Pope Pius XII named Čule as bishop. NDH authorities opposed this as they had not been consulted beforehand. Minister of Justice and Religion Mirko Puk sent a letter to all Catholic parishes in Herzegovina calling for a boycott of the new bishop. Despite this, Šarić consecrated Čule in Mostar on 4 October 1942, with archbishop

Aloysius Stepinac Aloysius Viktor Cardinal Stepinac ( hr, Alojzije Viktor Stepinac, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a senior-ranking Yugoslav Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his dea ...

and Giuseppe Ramiro Marcone acting as co-consecrators. Šarić publicly supported the forced conversions of Orthodox Serbs to Catholicism. In his book, ''The Balkans in Our Time'', Professor Robert Lee Wolff referred to Ustaše gangs killing tens of thousands of Serbs, and wrote:

"To some they offered the choice between conversion from Orthodoxy to Catholicism or instant death. … It must be recorded as a historic fact that certain members of the Croatian hierarchy, notably Archbishop Sharich of Sarajevo, endorsed this butchery."

According to French writer Jean Hussard, who witnessed the four years of Ustaše governance, Šarić not only knew about but also encouraged the persecution of Serbs. One of Šarić's subordinates was Father Franjo Kralik, who published anti-Semitic and anti-Serb hate speech in the ''Katolički Tjednik'' under Šarić. ''Love Has Its Limits'', a piece often attributed to Šarić, was actually written by Father Kralik in one of Šarić's Sarajevo diocesan newspapers. It was part of a campaign to explain to the masses why the Jews around them were being "disappeared":

"The descendants of those who hated Jesus, who condemned him to death, who crucified him and immediately persecuted his disciples, are guilty of greater excesses than those of their forefathers. Greed is growing. The Jews who led Europe and the entire world to disaster – morally, culturally and economically – developed an appetite which nothing less than the world as a whole could satisfy … Love has its limits. The movement for freeing the world from Jews is a movement for the renaissance of human dignity. The all-wise and Almighty God is behind this movement.Jasenovac – Pavelić papers
, jasenovac-info.com; accessed 30 November 2014.

Post-war life

After the war, in 1945, he answered to no war crime charges after fleeing justice. He and

Gregorij Rožman Gregorij Rožman (9 March 1883 – 16 November 1959) was a Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate. Between 1930 and 1959, he served as bishop of the Diocese of Ljubljana. He may be best-remembered for his controversial role during World War II. Rožm ...

, Bishop of

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, lived under British supervision at the Bishop's Palace at

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, Austria (Foreign Office 371) in October 1946. Rožman later emigrated to the United States, where he died.Jasenovac – Donja Gradina: Industry of Death 1941–45
, jasenovac-info.com; accessed 30 November 2014."A short time later Rožman duly arrived in

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

, accompanied by Bishop Ivan Šarić, the ‘hangman’ of Sarajevo. By the end of May 1948, Rožman had apparently carried out this money laundering operation for the Ustashi, for he visited the U.S. Consulate in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

and was given a ‘non-quota immigration visa as a minister of religion'".
''Unholy Trinity – The Vatican, the Nazis, and the Swiss Banks'' by John Loftus and Mark Aarons (1998), pp. 132-33, St. Martin's Press;
2005 Interview with John Loftus, co-author of ''Unholy Trinity – The Vatican, the Nazis, and the Swiss Banks'' (1998)
ftrsummary.blogspot.com; accessed 30 November 2014. Šarić moved to

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

with the assistance of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, where he made a new translation of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

into Croatian, and published a book extolling the virtues of Pope Pius XII. Šarić died in Madrid on 6 July 1960, aged 88. His body is now buried in the Church of St. Joseph in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saric, Ivan 1871 births 1960 deaths People from Travnik Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Archbishops of Vrhbosna Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic archbishops in Yugoslavia Bosnia and Herzegovina collaborators with Fascist Italy Bosnia and Herzegovina collaborators with Nazi Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War II Catholicism and far-right politics Anti-Serbian sentiment Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians

Early life and career

War time activities

Post-war life

See also

References