Giovanni Pasquali ( sr-Latn, Đovani Paskvali; 1586–1665) was a Catholic missionary who was in charge for Catholicization of Orthodox Serbs, first in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and then in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Pasquali was a member of a noble family from

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

. Members of this family, who were nobility of Tvrtko I of Bosnia, came to Kotor in 15th century. He was born in 1586 and baptised on 22 May 1586. His father was Kristofor de Dominis, son of Grisogon, and his sister was Cecilia.

Missionary activities

On 18 August 1641 Pasquali, then a missionary in Dalmatia, reported that his everyday activities included visiting and converting Orthodox Serbs to Catholicism. After Leonardi's death, Pasquali succeeded him in his missionary duties in Montenegro and Serbia, which marked the beginning of large-scale planned activities on Catholicisation of the Orthodox population of this region. In 1643 Pasquali reported that 7,000 "schismatic" (Orthodox) and "heretic" (Muslim) Serbs live in Montenegro. On 1 December 1645 he wrote a letter to the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregatio ...

and requested four or five Catholic priests to be sent to the coast of Montenegro populated with Orthodox Serbs, for religious conversion purposes. He recommended that those priests first learn to speak Serbian and write using Serbian Cyrillic script. On 5 August 1646 Pasquali wrote a letter to the Sacred Congregation and informed them that Kotor bishop Vićentije Buća convinced many people to accept Catholicism. On 29 April 1648 Pasquali reported from

Grbalj Grbalj ( sr-Cyrl, Грбаљ), denotes a historic, rural region of the Montenegrin littoral, and a parish located between town of Budva Budva (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Будва, or ) is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region o ...

that he had a lot of work due to the region being full of Serb newcomers who again applied for Venetian service. Pasquali maintained a very good relation with Orthodox bishop Makarije. In February 1665 Makarije wrote to the Congregation, praised Pasquali and requested that the Congregation should support Pasquali with money and books. In August 1665 the Congregation responded positively to those requests and sent books and money to Pasquali.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paskvali, Ivan 1586 births Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith People from Kotor Venetian Slavs 17th-century Venetian people Roman Catholic missionaries in Croatia 17th-century deaths 17th-century Serbian Roman Catholic priests Republic of Venice clergy Roman Catholic missionaries in Montenegro Roman Catholic missionaries in Serbia