Mátyás Laáb () ( – 7 August 1823) was a

Burgenland Croatian Burgenland Croatian is a regional variety of the Chakavian dialect of Croatian language, Croatian spoken in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Burgenland Croatian is recognized as a minority language in the Austrian state of Bu ...

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

, writer, and translator. He is known for translating the first copy of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

into

. Born was in

Bezenye Bezenye (; ; ) is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary. It is situated 6 km from the Slovak border and just 25 km from the Slovak capital Bratislava. The population of 1600 consists mostly of Hungarians, with a large Cro ...

near

Mosonmagyaróvár Mosonmagyaróvár (; ; also known by other alternative names) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County in northwestern Hungary. It lies close to both the Austrian and Slovak borders and has a population of 32,752 (). Mosonmagyaróvár used ...

. His priestly vocation began in 1790 in the Bischopric of Győr. He served for six years as a parson of Hidegség, and from 1797-1823 as priest in Neudorf bei Parndorf. Laáb's aim was the reform of the Burgenland Croatian literary language. In 1812, he presented his translation of the New Testament in

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 ...

, but the Burgenland New Testament was never published (the first published translation in Burgenland Croatian is the ''Novi Zakon'' from 1952 by

Martin Meršić Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Martí ...

and Ivan Jakšić). In addition, Laáb penned two catechisms.

Works

* Translation of the New Testament (1812) * ''Krátka summa velíkoga óbcsinszkoga katekízmusa za ucsnyu mláje druzsíne Gornyih Ug'rszki Horvátov'' (A Short Summa of the Great Catechism for the teaching of young Croatian families in Upper-Hungary, 1814) * ''Véliki óbcsinszki katekizmus za Górnye Ugrszke Horváte'' (Great Cathecism for the Croats in Upper-Hungary, 1820)

Sources

* Nikola Benčić: Književnost gradišćanskih Hrvata,

1998. 1746 births 1823 deaths Burgenland Croats Croatian writers 18th-century Croatian Roman Catholic priests 18th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests {{RC-clergy-stub