Tomaž Mavrič, CM (born 9 May 1959) is an Argentine Catholic priest who has served as

superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...

since 2016.

Biography

Mavrič was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Leopoldina and Joze Mavrič, both Slovenians, in 1932. They fled

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 ...

, in May 1945, when the Communist party rose to power in the aftermath of

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 ...

, fleeing to Austria and then, in 1948, to Argentina. They married in 1957 and had five children, two girls and three boys. Joze Mavrič died in 1989, when Tomaž was 30-years-old; two brothers still live in Argentina, a sister in the United States, and a brother in Brazil. He attended primary and secondary education in Buenos Aires, the last three years of the first and the entire second at the Colegio Maria Reina, founded and directed by Slovenian

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: People *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both ...

in Remedios de Escalada, Buenos Aires. During this time, Mavrič remained at the boarding school next to the school operated by the Vincentians.

Early Vincentian work

After finishing high school, Tomaž entered the Congregation of the Mission in Slovenia. He attended the internal seminary in Belgrade and, from 1977, began his collegiate studies in Ljubljana. In Ljubljana, Mavrič studied philosophy and theology. He took his perpetual vows at the Congregation of the Mission on 8 April 1982 and was ordained a priest on 29 June 1983 in Ljubljana. Shortly after his ordination, he was sent to Toronto, Canada, where he served as a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

until 1994. After his time as a vicar in Canada, Mavrič relocated again to Slovenia, working for three years in local religious missions. At that time, he was invited by Father Robert Maloney, CM, then Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, to work in the congregation's international missions. Mavrič then joined the formation, leaving for Dublin, Ireland, and for Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, and, between 2004 and 2007, guided the novitiate in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2009, he was elected Vice-Visitor of the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius, founded in 2001, which encompasses Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. On July 5, 2016, during the 42nd General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission, held in Chicago, United States, Mavrič was elected the 25th Superior General, replacing Father Gregory Gay, CM.

Response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Mavrič claimed that the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

gave Christians the opportunity "to serve, to be better, and to grow" as members of their society. Furthermore, Mavrič cited

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

in claiming "we will not leave this crisis as the same persons that we were before this happened." Finally, Mavrič praised the use of modern technology in the battle against the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, pointing toward remote conferencing applications like

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...

in allowing meetings without the risk of infection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomaž Mavrič 1959 births Living people 20th-century Argentine Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Argentine Roman Catholic priests Argentine people of Slovenian descent Clergy from Buenos Aires Argentine anti-poverty advocates