Josip Ujčić (10 February 1880 - 24 March 1964) was a
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
n (and later
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
n)
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. He was the
Archbishop of Belgrade,
Apostolic Administrator of Banat,
Council Father and a member of the
Central Preparatory Commission of the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
.
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, and graduated from the state grammar school in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
.
He completed theological college in
Gorizia
Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
and became a priest in 1902. After his ordination, he continued to study theology in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, 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 Gorizia, 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" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...
at
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
'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 and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
period, he helped the Catholic faithful of his archdiocese. He was president of the
Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia (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 a Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate. He was the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Belgrade in Serbia between 2001 and 2022. He was also the president of the ...
, Archbishop Ujčić, who has been in
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
for almost 28 years, never met with the Patriarch of the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
, the dominant religious community in
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, 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 (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
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