Ivan Merz
Encyclopedia
Blessed Ivan Merz was a Bosnian
-Croatian lay academic, beatified by Pope John Paul II on a visit at Banja Luka
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
on June 23, 2003. Ivan Merz promoted the liturgical movement in Croatia
and together with Ivo Protulipac
created a movement for the young people, “The Croatian union of the Eagles” (“Hrvatski orlovski savez)”, inspired by the “Eucharistic Crusade,” which he had encountered in France
.
He was born on December 16, 1896 in Banja Luka from a liberal family, when Bosnia was occupied by Austria-Hungary. He attended school in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment of his native town and graduated when Crown prince Franz Ferdinand was murdered (June 28, 1914).
He joined the military Academy in Wiener Neustadt at his parents' request but, disgusted by the corruption of this environment, he left after three months. In 1915, he started his university studies in Vienna but was called up shortly thereafter to serve in the army during World War I. After that, he returned to Banja Luka, where he experienced the radical political change and the birth of the new Yugoslav State. In 1919 until 1920 he was in Vienna, studying at the Faculty of Philosophy. In October 1920 he set off for Paris, where he attended some lessons at the Sorbonne University and in the “Institute Catholique”, preparing in the meantime his doctoral dissertation
He won his doctorate at the Faculty of Philosophy on the University of Zagreb
in 1923 through his thesis, “The influence of liturgy on the French writers.” He was professor at the archiepiscopal gymnasium in Zagreb till his death (May 10, 1928).
Little known outside his native country, Ivan Merz fascinates those who approach him as to a Catholic student and soldier, then an intellectual layman with a wide culture who employed all his own energies serving other people and educating the Croatian youth. Without a family or spiritual guidance, he found his way to sanctity, so that he was defined as a “Spontaneous spiril fruit”, where the presence of the Grace is experimentally proved.
Merz came out of the war as a mature Christian and as such, he resumed his studies in Vienna and continued them in France, devoting himself more and more to the Croatian Catholic movement
.
Once back in Zagreb, he gave a new direction to the youth’s movement of the “Eagles” (“Hrvatski orlovi”), according to the Catholic Action
’s principles. As a mature man he modeled the “catholic man” par excellence, "whose heart was beating together with the heart of the Church that has no national or political frontiers; the Church that is the Mystical Body of Christ, gathered around the real Christ in Eucharist, represented by his vicar on earth, the Pope." The Church, the Eucharist and the Pope: three loves, or rather one only love, according to Merz, who was trying with all his might to instill it in the Croatian youth.
He promoted the liturgical movement in Croatia and, according to Pius XI’s instructions, in order to put together an “elite” of apostles to work for the “renewal of everything in Christ”. He worked for five years to establish the Kingdom of God in his country.
As a layman consecrated to God, he devoted himself for six years to the apostolic work of bringing up Catholic youth in Croatia. He promoted the liturgical revival and the Catholic Action
of the Pope Pius XI. Completely devoted to the Church and the Pope in Rome, Ivan lived a holy life imbued with the worship of the Eucharist. Although he was a layman he is called “the pillar of the Church” in Croatia.
Pope John Paul II beatified him in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on June 22, 2003, and put him as an example of Christian life to the young and lay believers. The Postulator of the Cause is Fr. Bozidar Nagy, SJ.
in the Philippines. The Director of the Confraternity, Dave Ceasar Dela Cruz was elected as the Vice Postulator of the Cause on 19 March 2008 by the Vatican through the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
-Croatian lay academic, beatified by Pope John Paul II on a visit at Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
on June 23, 2003. Ivan Merz promoted the liturgical movement in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and together with Ivo Protulipac
Ivo Protulipac
Ivo Protulipac was a Croatian lawyer and important Catholic activist , who was assassinated by Yugoslav secret police in 1946....
created a movement for the young people, “The Croatian union of the Eagles” (“Hrvatski orlovski savez)”, inspired by the “Eucharistic Crusade,” which he had encountered in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Life as a Layman
Ivan Merz is a young layman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who lived in a turbulent age.He was born on December 16, 1896 in Banja Luka from a liberal family, when Bosnia was occupied by Austria-Hungary. He attended school in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment of his native town and graduated when Crown prince Franz Ferdinand was murdered (June 28, 1914).
He joined the military Academy in Wiener Neustadt at his parents' request but, disgusted by the corruption of this environment, he left after three months. In 1915, he started his university studies in Vienna but was called up shortly thereafter to serve in the army during World War I. After that, he returned to Banja Luka, where he experienced the radical political change and the birth of the new Yugoslav State. In 1919 until 1920 he was in Vienna, studying at the Faculty of Philosophy. In October 1920 he set off for Paris, where he attended some lessons at the Sorbonne University and in the “Institute Catholique”, preparing in the meantime his doctoral dissertation
He won his doctorate at the Faculty of Philosophy on the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
in 1923 through his thesis, “The influence of liturgy on the French writers.” He was professor at the archiepiscopal gymnasium in Zagreb till his death (May 10, 1928).
Little known outside his native country, Ivan Merz fascinates those who approach him as to a Catholic student and soldier, then an intellectual layman with a wide culture who employed all his own energies serving other people and educating the Croatian youth. Without a family or spiritual guidance, he found his way to sanctity, so that he was defined as a “Spontaneous spiril fruit”, where the presence of the Grace is experimentally proved.
Merz came out of the war as a mature Christian and as such, he resumed his studies in Vienna and continued them in France, devoting himself more and more to the Croatian Catholic movement
Croatian Catholic movement
Croatian Catholic movement is the name for the gathering of organized Catholic lay initiatives and associations, who acts in the first half of the 20th century in Croatia, as a response on increasing liberalism, with a new, aggressive approach, and on the phenomena of Church and religion lost the...
.
Once back in Zagreb, he gave a new direction to the youth’s movement of the “Eagles” (“Hrvatski orlovi”), according to the Catholic Action
Catholic Action
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society.They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France, and...
’s principles. As a mature man he modeled the “catholic man” par excellence, "whose heart was beating together with the heart of the Church that has no national or political frontiers; the Church that is the Mystical Body of Christ, gathered around the real Christ in Eucharist, represented by his vicar on earth, the Pope." The Church, the Eucharist and the Pope: three loves, or rather one only love, according to Merz, who was trying with all his might to instill it in the Croatian youth.
He promoted the liturgical movement in Croatia and, according to Pius XI’s instructions, in order to put together an “elite” of apostles to work for the “renewal of everything in Christ”. He worked for five years to establish the Kingdom of God in his country.
As a layman consecrated to God, he devoted himself for six years to the apostolic work of bringing up Catholic youth in Croatia. He promoted the liturgical revival and the Catholic Action
Catholic Action
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society.They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France, and...
of the Pope Pius XI. Completely devoted to the Church and the Pope in Rome, Ivan lived a holy life imbued with the worship of the Eucharist. Although he was a layman he is called “the pillar of the Church” in Croatia.
Beatification and Process of Canonization
In 1928, Merz died, leaving an example of how a man can live, fight and suffer for God’s cause. Merz tried hard to give his life the “full meaning”, heading for sanctity, and all his pedagogical task was devoted to the formation of apostles of sanctity. He died on May 10, 1928 with a reputation of a saint. His shrine is located in the Basilica of the Heart of Jesus in Zagreb, Croatia. The canonization cause started in 1958.Pope John Paul II beatified him in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on June 22, 2003, and put him as an example of Christian life to the young and lay believers. The Postulator of the Cause is Fr. Bozidar Nagy, SJ.
In the Philippines
The Cause for the Canonization of Blessed Ivan Merz is officially promoted by the Confraternity of Catholic SaintsConfraternity of Catholic Saints
The Confraternity of Catholic saints is a Catholic organization of young people consecrated to the Trinity through the Blessed Virgin Mary and dedicated in proclaiming the gospel and promoting that the catholic view of holiness is very possible.- Overview :...
in the Philippines. The Director of the Confraternity, Dave Ceasar Dela Cruz was elected as the Vice Postulator of the Cause on 19 March 2008 by the Vatican through the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
See also
- Pier Giorgio FrassatiPier Giorgio FrassatiBlessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, T.O.S.D., was an Italian Catholic activist, who was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic. He has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church....
- Ljubomir MarakovićLjubomir MarakovićDr Ljubomir Maraković was a Croatian literary critic and historian, and one of the leaders of the Croatian Catholic movement....
- Antun Mahnić
- Josip StadlerJosip StadlerJosip Stadler was a Croatian priest, the first modern archbishop of Vrhbosna and the founded of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus . He is a candidate for sainthood....
- Alberto MarvelliAlberto MarvelliAlberto Marvelli was an Italian member of the Catholic Action.Born at Ferrara, he was given a Christian formation by his mother, who kept their home open to the poor...
- Bartolome Blanco MarquezBartolome Blanco MarquezBlessed Bartolomé Blanco Márquez Bartolomé Blanco Márquez was born in Pozoblanco, Córdoba Province, Spain in 1914. He was arrested as a Catholic leader—he was the secretary of Catholic Action and a delegate to the Catholic Syndicates—on Aug. 18, 1936. He was executed on Oct...
- Chiara BadanoChiara BadanoChiara Badano, called Chiara “Luce” , was an Italian teenager who has been declared "Blessed" within the Catholic Church. She belonged to the Focolare Movement and died prematurely at eighteen after succumbing to osteosarcoma, an aggressive and painful form of bone cancer...
- Cardinal Aloysius StepinacAloysius StepinacAloysius Viktor Stepinac , also known as Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, was a Croatian Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 to 1960. In 1998 he was declared a martyr and beatified by Pope John Paul II....