Former Franciscan Parishes - Croatian Franciscan Custody

CROATIAN PARISHES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA IN WHICH FRANCISCANS OF THE CUSTODY ONCE WORKED

The Croatians in Ambridge purchased a Baptist church in 1929 even though they had no priest. In the beginning American priests celebrated mass for them. During that same year Rev. Rudolf Potočnik, a Croatian priest, arrived in the parish. Due to poor health, however, he remained in the parish only a very short time, as did the Third Order Franciscans and Conventuals who subsequently tended to the parish. Franciscans from the Croatian Commissariat came to the parish in 1932 and worked there until its closing in 1994. The first Franciscan pastor was Fr. Bono Andačić. Since there was no rectory he had to live in private homes. His successor, Fr. Franjo Čuturić, built a small rectory adjacent to the church in 1935. Subsequent pastors paid off debts and prepared for the construction of a new church. A spacious stone church was built during Fr. Serafin Vištica’s pastorate in 1951. Fr. Steve Raich, pastor from 1959 to 1965, had the rectory building enlarged and purchased a convent for the Sisters of Charity who had arrived in the parish. The sisters were responsible for children’s religious instruction and various domestic duties. Fr. Marko Kozina, pastor from 1965 to 1969, renovated the church and parish hall. The parish closed in 1994. The reason for the closing of the parish was repeated elsewhere in Pennsylvania and other states. The bishops in these areas decided to merge several ethnic parishes because most parishioners primarily spoke English and the number of parishioners in these ethnic parishes had declined due to a decrease in job availability and the subsequent move of younger parishioners to other cities.

Fr. Theodore Benković arrived in Monessen in 1952 and started working among the Croatians. He initially held massees in the Slovak church and resided in that rectory. The local Polish church was used from 1952 to 1957. A rectory was purchased for the Croatian priest in 1954. The following year Fr. Theodore purchased land on which a church was built in 1957. It was dedicated in 1958. He also purchased a rectory in the vicinity of the church. His successor, Fr. Predrag Kordić (1960-1971), built a new church in the shape of a cross over the first church which was then converted into a parish hall. Over the ensuing years, a relatively small number of Croatian families had to pay off a very large debt. The parish was closed in 1991 due to the declining number parishioners.

A relatively large Croatian community existed in Steelton at the end of the 19^th century. They were given their first Croatian pastor, Rev. Dobroslav Božić, in 1898. That same year, they purchased an old Protestant church where they began to celebrate mass. During Fr. Anton Žuvić’s pastorate, a new church was built (1913-1917) and named in honor of the Assumption of Mary. After his departure from the parish in 1919, priests from the Franciscan Commissariat cared for the Croatian parish in Steelton. Under Fr. Irenaeus Petričak’s guidance, a large school building was built. His successor, Fr. Ambro Mišetić, paid off the large debt and built a convent for the nuns. Three sons of the parish presently serve in the Custody: Fr. Theodore Benković, Fr. Jerome Kućan and Fr. Robert Galinac.

The parish was terminated in 1995 because the local bishop merged several ethnic parishes. The facilities of St. Mary’s are used by the newly created parish. Some Croatians, disappointed with the termination of their Croatian parish, continue to peacefully object to the manner in which the merger was conducted.

Fr. Dobroslav Božić 1898.-1900.

fra Gaudencije Gorše 1900.-1902.

Fr. Franjo Ažbe 1902.-1909.

Fr. Ilija Gušić 1909.-1911.

Fr. Joseph Petrovitz 1911.

Fr. Anton Žuvić 1911.-1919.

Year	Pastor	Year	Associate Pastor
1919-26	fra Ambrozije Širca
1926-37	fra Irenej Petričak	1929.	fra Špiro Andrijanić
1937-50	fra Ambro Mišetić	1938-41	fra Silvije Grubišić
		1941-49	fra Charles Pleše
		1944-46	fra Steve Raich
		1949-50	fra Bono Bilandžić
1950-53	fra Charles Pleše	1949-50	fra Patrick Cigić
		1952-53	fra Serafin Vištica
1953-57	fra Steve Raich	1953-68	fra Vilim Primorac
1957-61	fra Silvije Grubišić	1954.	fra Dominik Ćorić
		1954-55	fra Roko Romac
1961-72	fra Jerko Kućan	1968-71	fra Zvonimir Kutleša
		1971.	fra Vincent Cvitković
1972-75	fra Božidar Benković	1971-76	fra Ilija Puljić
1975-79	fra Silvije Grubišić	1976-80	fra Jozo Čuić
1979-82	fra Jerko Kućan	1980-82	fra Jozo Grubišić
1982-85	fra Steve Raich	1984-85	fra Stjepan Pandžić
1985-88	fra Jozo Abramović
1988-89	fra Slavko Soldo
1989-95	fra Jozo Čuić	1991-95	fra Boško Benković

Rev. Mato Matina, a priest from the Zagreb Archdiocese, established this parish in 1902. With his parishioners he soon started the construction of a church, which was completed and dedicated in 1904. Rev. Bosiljko Bekavac was the pastor of the parish for almost 50 years (1911-1959). Two successive pastors were priests from the Pittsburgh Diocese. The Daughters of Divine Charity from Sarajevo arrived in the parish in 1926. The parish was given to the care of the Franciscan Custody in 1968 with Fr. Miron Lasić as pastor. He served in this capacity until the closing of the parish in 1994. The parish was merged with other parishes due to the declining number of parishioners.

Associate Pastors have been: fra Miron Lasić (1949.-1956.), fra Ivo Sivrić (1956.), fra Karlo Zovko (1969.-1974.) i fra Josip Galić (1974.-1976).

There were many problems in the establishment of this parish. The first church built in 1915 developed as an “independent” Croatian parish. Consequently, the majority of the parishioners turned their back on the church and it closed down in 1917. In a short time period, Croatian priests, first Rev. Čančarević (1917) followed by Fr. Leon Medić (1918), celebrated mass in a Hungarian church. Fr. Leon returned to Sharon in 1924 and the Croatians rented the Hungarian church for their services. Finally, in 1925, a parcel of land on the corner of Idaho and Sherman Streets was purchased and the construction of a new church began. Unfortunately, the new church was short lived: it was totally destroyed by a fire in 1928. In 1929 the Croatians repurchased the “independent” church on Market Street and its cemetery. In 1930 the parish was divided over the construction of the new church: the majority wanted it built on the foundation of the destroyed church, while the minority wanted it constructed on the site of the former independent church. Together with his parishioners, pastor Fr. Anzelmo Slišković started the construction of the church in 1934 on the foundation of the old, burned down church. The work was completed in 1938 and the church was blessed. In 1940 a new rectory was built. The Daughters of Divine Charity arrived in the parish in 1947 and were the first teachers when the parish opened a school in 1960. The construction of the school in 1959/1960 was organized by the pastor Fr. Zoran Ostojić. A spacious playground for the school was purchased in 1962. The church was completely renovated in 1964.

From 1924 to 1996 in the parish 1827 children were baptized, 1104 individuals were buried, 658 couples were married, 1105 children received First Holy Communion and 1104 individuals were confirmed.

The parish of St. Joseph in Bethlehem is distinctive among all the other parishes mentioned in this book. Windish Slovenians and a small number of Croatians constitute the parish. Slovenian Franciscans, who were members of a Croatian province, ministered in the parish from its beginnings until 1937. The Croatian Franciscans have been serving the parish from 1937 to the present. The first pastor was Fr. Anselm Murn, a member of the joint Franciscan Commissariat of the Holy Cross, who arrived in the parish community in 1913. From 1914 to 1917 an impressive stone church was built and dedicated to St. Joseph. After Fr. Anselm, there were two more Slovenian Franciscan pastors who were members of the Zagreb Franciscan Province in the homeland and the Commissariat in the United States. The first Croatian pastor was Fr. Irenaeus Petričak who managed to pay off the enormous church debt. In addition to excellently learning the Windish dialect of the Slovenian language, he compiled a dictionary and grammar book for the Windish.

From 1913 to 1996 in the parish, 3565 individuals were baptized, 1477 individuals were buried, 1293 couples were married, 2323 children were confirmed and 1154 children received First Holy Communion. Services are celebrated exclusively in English.

In this summary of parishes in the United States, it should also be noted that Fr. Ljubo Čuvalo, a Hercegovinian Franciscan and Commissariat member, worked as a pastor for six years in a Croatian parish in Portland (1936-1943). In addition, other Franciscans, members of the Custody, occasionally worked in several Croatian and American parishes, which are not mentioned here. Please refer to the summary of individual priests in this book for further details.