Josip Ujčić (10 February 1880 - 24 March 1964) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n (and later

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

. He was the Archbishop of Belgrade, Apostolic Administrator of Banat,

Council Father An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...

and a member of the

Central Preparatory Commission The Central Preparatory Commission was the body that co-ordinated the preparation of the schemas for the Second Vatican Council. It was established by Pope John XXIII on June 5, 1960. It had 120 members, including cardinals and bishops, amongst the ...

of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

Biography

Josip Ujčić was born on February 10, 1880, in Stari Pazin to Anton Ujčić and Katarina Ladavac. Ujčić was born into a rural family. He attended elementary school in

Tinjan Tinjan ( it, Antignana) is a village and municipality in Istria, Croatia. The total population is 1,684 (2011 census), distributed in the following settlements: * Brčići, population 100 * Brečevići, population 187 * Jakovici, population 268 ...

, and graduated from the state grammar school in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. He completed theological college in

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

and became a priest in 1902. After his ordination, he continued to study theology in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and received his doctorate with the dissertation ''Historia glagolicae speciali cum respectu ad decreta pontificia''. After receiving his doctorate he began teaching at the Theological Seminary in Goričko, and from 1912 to 1919 he was director of the Augustineum Institute and professor at the Vienna Faculty of Catholic Theology, then professor of

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

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 ar ...

's Faculty of theology until 1936. He was the institute's dean from 1934 to 1935. Ujčić was ordained a bishop in Zagreb on 7 March 1937. He was appointed Archbishop of Belgrade and Apostolic Administration of Banat. In the difficult

inter-war In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

and

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 opposin ...

period, he helped the Catholic faithful of his archdiocese. He was president of the

Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia was an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church covering the territory of Yugoslavia. The first such bishops' conference was held in the Kingdom of Ser ...

(1948-1961). He interceded for the regulation of relations between church and state, and participated in the preparation and work of the Second Vatican Council. He died near the end of the council on March 24, 1964. According to Belgrade Archbishop and Metropolitan

Stanislav Hočevar Stanislav Hočevar ( sr-cyr, Станислав Хочевар; born 12 November 1945) is the retired Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate. He was the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Belgrade in Serbia between 2001 and 2022. He was also the president ...

, Archbishop Ujčić, who has been in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

for almost 28 years, never met with the Patriarch of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

, the dominant religious community in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, which was strange at the time because of the strong ecumenical work of his predecessor, Rafael Rodić, the first Archbishop of Belgrade, and also

Croat 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, Ge ...

by origin. Ujčić was buried in the Belgrade Church of Christ the King. He was awarded the state decoration in 1960. On the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of his death, a memorial plaque dedicated to him was unveiled in the Church of Christ the King in Belgrade.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ujcic, Josip 1880 births 1964 deaths People from Pazin Roman Catholic archbishops in Yugoslavia Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia