Josip Stadler (24 January 1843 – 8 December 1918) was a Bosnian-Herzegovinian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna, from 1881 to his death in 1918. He was the founder of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus ().

Biography

Early life and education

Stadler was born in

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (, ), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod is the 7th lar ...

in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

(present-day

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 ...

). His parents, Đuro and Marija (née Balošić) were hatmakers. His father's ancestors were originally christened Jews from

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

. Early in life, he lost both parents. He was taken care of by the Oršić family. He started his education in Slavonski Brod, and continued it, under the patronage of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Juraj Haulik, in Požega and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

where he attended Classical gymnasium. In

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

he attended the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

where he attained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

.Antolović, Josip (1986). "Prvi vrhbosanski nadbiskup Josip Stadler", ''Obnovljeni život: časopis za filozofiju i religijske znanosti'', Vol. 41. No. 3.- 4., p. 285.

Career

Stadler was ordained a priest in Rome on June 6, 1868, after which he returned to

where he worked as a professor at a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

and later a university professor at the Catholic Faculty of Theology of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. In 1881, the Catholic Church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina was reinstated after nearly seven centuries, when the last bishop of Bosnia was evicted by Bosnian ban

Matej Ninoslav Matej Ninoslav ( sr-Cyrl, Матеј Нинослав; died 1250) was the Ban of Bosnia in the period of 1232–50. Most of Bosnia was under the Kingdom of Hungary from 1235 to 1241. Ninoslav was also a Prince of Split in 1242–1244 during the lo ...

and left

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

for

Đakovo Đakovo (; , , sr-Cyrl, Ђаково) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( ). Etymology The etymology of the name is the (diákos) in Slavic form đak (pupil). The Hungar ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

named Stadler as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. Under his direction, the Cathedral of Jesus' Heart was built, along with the seminary and church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. In

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

he helped build the gymnasium and seminary, as well as many churches and women's seminaries throughout the country. Stadler founded the women's order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus with the intention of helping impoverished and abandoned children and others. He sent a plea to Vienna, to Franziska Lechner to send nuns to Sarajevo. He formed the

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

s ''Betlehem'' and ''Egipat'' for children and a home for the elderly. He argued that

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

should be integrated into a greater Croatian state. Stadler invited

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

to engage in a theological discussion and to consider the possibility of unifying the two churches, but his proposal was firmly rejected.

Death

Stadler died in

on the feast day of the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

in his 75th year. He was succeeded by archbishop Ivan Šarić. Stadler was buried in

Sarajevo Cathedral The Sacred Heart Cathedral (Serbo-Croatian: ''Katedrala Srca Isusova/Катедрала Срца Исусова'') is a Catholic church in Sarajevo; commonly referred as the Sarajevo Cathedral (''Sarajevska katedrala/Сарајевска кат� ...

Canonization and legacy

During Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's visit to

on 12 April 1997 the pope prayed at Stadler's grave. The process for Stadler's canonization began in Sarajevo on 20 June 2002. Stadler was proclaimed Honorary citizen of

(2023).

Works

Following is a partial list of works authored by archbishop Stadler: * Logika, Zagreb, 1871 * Poslovice: pučka mudrost, ''

Danica ilirska Danica ilirska was the first Croatian literary magazine launched on 10 January 1835 as a weekly supplement to ''Novine horvatske'' newspaper in Zagreb, the Kingdom of Croatia. It was initially published under the title of ''Danicza horvatzka, sl ...

'' for the year 1873, Zagreb, 1872 * Theologia fundamentalis: tractatus de vera religione, de vera Christi Ecclesia et de Romano Pontifice complectens, Zagreb, 1880 * Theologia fundamentalis: tractatus de traditione, Scriptura et analysi fidei complectens, Sarajevo, 1884 * ''Filosofija u 6 svezaka'' hilosophy in 6 volumes* I. Logika, dio prvi: Dijalektika ogic, Part One: Dialectics 1904 * II. Logika, dio drugi: Kritika ili noetika ogic, Part Two: Criticism or Noetics 1905 * III. Opća metafisika ili ontologija eneral Metaphysics or Ontology 1907 * IV. Kosmologija osmology 1909 * V. Psihologija sychology 1910 * VI. Naravno bogoslovlje atural Theology 1915

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stadler, Josip 1843 births 1918 deaths People from Slavonski Brod Danube-Swabian people Archbishops of Vrhbosna Bishops appointed by Pope Leo XIII 19th-century Croatian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic activists Croatian Servants of God