Društvo sv. Rafaela – prvi pokušaj organiziranja pastoralnog rada za hrvatsko iseljeništvo

Abstract

The Croatian Society of St Raphael, founded in 1913, is quite poorly researched in our historiography. Many authors sporadically mention him in scholarly articles dealing with the history of the Croatian diaspora in the United States. The main reason why the Society and its activities have not been thoroughly researched is the fact that archival sources about the Society were unknown and inaccessible. As already mentioned, the Society of St Rafael was founded in May 1913 as a result of the efforts of Archbishop Antun Bauer of Zagreb, who, at the instigation of Pope Pius X, organized and established pastoral care for a growing number of Croatian emigrants across the Atlantic, especially in the United States. Bauer applied the model of the national societies of St Raphael since this type of society had previously been used in many Catholic nations as successful in achieving pastoral care for their emigrants. The organization of the Society was entrusted to the Society of the Franciscans of Zagreb, among which the most prominent were the Franciscan Provincial, Fr. Rafael Rodić, and the Secretary of the Society, Fr. Ivan Franković. The influence of Rodić on the work of the Society was paramount, since he wrote the Rules of the Society, and was the first official visit to the United States on behalf of the Archbishop of Zagreb. On the other hand, Franković was the main organizer and coordinator of all activities of the Society of St Raphael. Unfortunately, the Society operated only for a short time because the First World War had already begun in August 1914, and the War firstly reduced and finally stopped any quality work of the Society. Nevertheless, in this short period, the Society achieved impressive results and laid an excellent foundation for further work after the War. Thus, the establishment and operation of the Society of St Raphael is the first attempt to organize systematic pastoral care for Croatian emigrants.