Jožef Kerec (born ''Kerécz József'') (15 October 1892 in
Prosečka Vas
Prosečka Vas (; sl, Prosečka vas, hu, Kölesvölgy) is a village in the Municipality of Puconci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a cou ...
– 27 June 1974) was the first
Slovene Salesian missionary in China.
Kerec spent his childhood in the
Prosečka Vas
Prosečka Vas (; sl, Prosečka vas, hu, Kölesvölgy) is a village in the Municipality of Puconci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a cou ...
,
Prekmurje (by 1920 in
Hungary,
Slovene March), where his family was from.
Before departing for China, Kerec was politically active in Prekmurje. On 17 August 1919, a few days after Prekmurje became part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (colloquially called ''Yugoslavia''), he spoke at a big public rally in
Beltinci
Beltinci (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Böltinci'', hu, Belatinc or ''Belatincz'', ger, (Alt)Fellsdorf) is a town in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Beltinci. Črnec Creek, a tributary of the Ledav ...
in support of Slovenia and the Kingdom, because he was Slovene and Slave.
As a missionary, Jožef Kerec departed to
Macau in 1921, arrived there on 18 August 1921 and had his first mass in Macau on 26 June 1923. He also worked in
Malaysia,
Vietnam,
Hong Kong and in China, where from 1939 till 1951 he was the
apostolic administrator in the city of
Zhaotong.
Kerec died and was buried in
Veržej
Veržej () is a settlement in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Veržej. It lies on the right bank of the Mura River. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality is now included in the Mura St ...
, Slovenia.
A memorial plaque to him is on the wall of the parish church in
Pečarovci
Pečarovci (; in older sources also ''Sveti Sebeštjan'', hu, Szentsebestyén, Prekmurje Slovene: ''Püčarovci'') is a village in the Municipality of Puconci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia.
There are two churches in the settlement. The Roma ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerec, Jozef
1892 births
1974 deaths
People from the Municipality of Puconci
20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests
Salesians of Don Bosco
Slovenian Roman Catholic missionaries
Roman Catholic missionaries in China
Slovenian expatriates in China
Yugoslav Roman Catholic priests