Anton Mahnič, also spelled Antun Mahnić in Croatian orthography (14 September 1850 – 30 December 1920), 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 ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n prelate 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 ...

and a philosopher who established and led the Croatian Catholic Movement. Mahnič served as the

bishop of Krk The Diocese of Krk ( hr, Krčka biskupija; la, Dioecesis Veglensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church active on the Croatian islands of Krk, Rab, Cres and Lošinj, as well as a few smaller ones and also a mis ...

from 1897 to his death in 1920.

Biography

Mahnič was born in

Kobdilj Kobdilj (; it, Cobidil San Gregorio) is a village south of Štanjel in the Municipality of Komen in the Littoral region of Slovenia next to the border with Italy. History During the Second World War the village was burned by German forces. Chur ...

near

Štanjel Štanjel (; it, San Daniele del Carso) is a village in the Municipality of Komen in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is located on the Karst Plateau overlooking the Vipava Valley. In the 17th century it was fortified to defend it against Otto ...

in the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

County of Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...

(in today's

). He finished theological studies 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 then worked as a priest and a teacher 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 ''Gori ...

. During this period, he became actively involved in the Slovene political life, criticising the liberal Catholic current within the

Slovene national movement Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

. In 1896, he became Bishop of

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...

(

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 ...

). In his bishopric he initiated many religious societies and activities, and started Catholic publishing, including a magazine for Christian philosophy called ''Hrvatska straža''. He founded Catholic student magazines and societies all over the

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He wrote many articles and works in the theological, philosophical, esthetical and political area. Later Mahnić initiated a Pius society, with its weekly newspaper ''Jutro''. These groups of Catholic intellectuals, gathered around these papers, joined together in the Croatian Catholic movement) before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, Mahnić was persecuted during the Italian occupation, and he went to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, where he died. Mahnić's main goal was defending and promoting Catholic faith and its moral principles in Croatian public and social life, which were endangered by

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

and

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

. Also important issue for him was spiritual and intellectual education of the youth.

Sources

*Bozanić, Antun: ''Biskup Mahnić. Pastir i javni djelatnik u Hrvata'',

– Krk, 1991 *Krišto, Jure: ''Hrvatski katolički pokret (1903–1945)'', Zagreb, 2004, *Krišto, Jure: ''Prešućena povijest. Katolička Crkva u Hrvatskoj politici 1850–1918'', Zagreb, 1994, , *Sinjeri, Josip: "Biskup Antun Mahnić i Hrvatski katolički pokret", ''Riječki teološki časopis'', Rijeka, 15 (2007), 2 (30), 551–587 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahnic, Anton Slovenian Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century Slovenian philosophers Slovenian emigrants to Croatia Catholic philosophers Roman Catholic bishops in Croatia Bishops of Krk Roman Catholic activists People from the Municipality of Komen People from Gorizia 1850 births 1920 deaths Slovenian Servants of God 21st-century Slovenian philosophers

Biography

See also

Sources