Marko of Križevci

Marko of Križevci

Marko von Križevci (* around 1589 in Križevci , today Croatia ; † September 7, 1619 in Košice, today Slovakia ) was a priest and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church . Marko Križevčanin is the third Croat to be canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church . He dedicated his pastoral work particularly to charity and dialogue between fellow men of different denominations and nationalities.

Life

St. Marko von Križevci was born in the former royal city of Križevci . He felt called to the priesthood at a young age. He completed his theology studies in Graz . His professor was Péter Pázmány , later Archbishop and Cardinal of Esztergom in Hungary . He continued his theology studies at the Papal Institute Germanicum in Rome . In the institute's archive there is still a document on which St. Marko von Križevci put his signature, with the addition of his national origin ( Croata ).

After graduating, he was ordained a priest. Then he returned to Croatia today and was in the then Diocese of Zagreb first pastoral been active. Cardinal Péter Pázmány recognized his skills in dealing with other people very early on and commissioned him to do pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Esztergom. After that he made him head of the seminary in Trnava . At that time, the Trnava city council appointed two Jesuits for Catholic pastoral care in their city area : Stefan Pongracz and Melkior Grodzieck. The three Catholic priests were very successful in their pastoral ministry. However, these successes had become unpleasant for some of the Calvinists who lived there. In order to prevent further pastoral success, the Catholics of the city of Trnava were accused of having started a fire in the city of Trnava in July 1619. Among the instigators , the two Jesuits and St have now. Marko von Križevci declared. To enable their official arrest, the Calvinist military guard under command Juraj Rakoczy marched into the city. All three Catholic priests were immediately transferred to prison. They were asked to renounce the " papacy " and they were urged to become Calvinist Christians. When they rejected these demands, they were tortured, handed over to the executioner in Košice on September 7, 1619 and beheaded. The news of her martyrdom spread quickly. Prince Bethlen, himself a devout Calvinist, did not allow the three Catholic priests who had been killed to be honored. Only after six months was Countess Katarina Palffy granted this permission. The graves of the three martyrs are in the Ursuline Church in Trnava.

Cardinal Péter Pázmány initiated an investigation into the later canonization of the three martyrs. He collected documents and testimonies about the life of the three Catholic priests and asked Pope Urban VIII for beatification or canonization. However, the process dragged on. On 15 January 1905, the three martyrs were by Pope Pius X beatified. Pope John Paul II canonized her during his pastoral visit to Slovakia on September 2, 1995 in Košice .

St. Marko von Križevci was described by his contemporaries as exemplary, pastorally capable and hardworking. In addition, he is said to have been virtuous and intelligent. All these assessments are confirmed by the trust placed in him by his theology professor and cardinal Péter Pázmány. His open-hearted dealings in pastoral service with people of different national origins testify to his European character. Aware of his Croatian origins, he felt at home everywhere. Whether he was in Italy, Hungary, Slovakia or at home in today's Croatia , St. Marko of Križevci people not to nations or confessions on. There are a number of surviving testimonies that he was on good terms with the Calvinist Christians . He did not see the Calvinists as enemies, but as brothers in the Christian faith with whom one had to live in Christian charity . Many Calvinists were shocked at the news of the execution of St. Marko found out about Križevci. Charity and dialogue are the pastoral messages of St. Marko of Križevci. The feast day of St. Marko von Križevci is celebrated on September 7th.

Web links

Commons : Marko von Križevci  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Marko von Križevci in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
• Biography from the pages of the Croatian Bishops' Conference (Croatian)
• Biography of the parish of St. Marko Križevčanin in Križevci (Croatian)
• Biography from the pages of the Holy Cross parish in Zagreb (Croatian)