Josip Stadler (24 January 1843 – 8 December 1918) was a Bosnian 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 in the Habsburg monarchy (present-day Croatia). His parents, Đuro and Marija (née Balošić) were hatmakers. His father's ancestors were originally christened Jews from Upper Austria.
Early in life, Stadler 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 Juraj Haulik, in Požega and Zagreb where he attended Classical gymnasium.Koprek, Ivan (2007). Thesaurus Archigymnasii, Zbornik radova u prigodi 400. godišnjice Klasične gimnazije u Zagrebu (1607. - 2007.), Zagreb, p. 899., In Rome he attended the Pontifical Gregorian University where he attained a doctorate in philosophy and theology.Antolović, Josip (1986). "Prvi vrhbosanski nadbiskup Josip Stadler", Obnovljeni život: časopis za filozofiju i religijske znanosti, Vol. 41. No. 3.- 4., p. 285.Religijski leksikon, ed. Josip Laća, Zagreb, 1999
Career Stadler was ordained a priest in Rome on June 6, 1868, after which he returned to Zagreb where he worked as a professor at a seminary and later a university professor at the Catholic Faculty of Theology of the University of Zagreb.
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 and left Bosnia for Đakovo. Pope Leo XIII named Stadler as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna in Sarajevo. Under his direction, the Cathedral of Jesus' Heart was built, along with the seminary and church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. In Travnik 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. With help of Ivana Zorman, hedmistress of orphanage in Trieste he formed the orphanages Betlehem and Egipat for children and a home for the elderly.
Stadler argued that Bosnia and Herzegovina should be integrated into a greater Croatian state. Stadler invited Serbs 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 Sarajevo on the feast day of the Assumption of Mary in his 75th year. He was succeeded by archbishop Ivan Šarić. Stadler was buried in Sarajevo Cathedral.
Canonization and legacy During Pope John Paul II's visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 12 April 1997 the pope prayed at Stadler's grave. The process for Stadler's canonization began in Sarajevo on 20 June 2002.Croatian Encyclopedia volume 10, ed. August Kovačec, Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography, Zagreb, 2008
Stadler was proclaimed Honorary citizen of Slavonski Brod (2023).Predsjednik Milanović na svečanoj sjednici povodom Dana grada Slavonskog Broda slavonski-brod.hr. City of Slavonski Brod. Published 16 May 2023.
Works Following is a partial list of works authored by archbishop Stadler: Logika, Zagreb, 1871 Poslovice: pučka mudrost, Danica ilirska 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 [Philosophy in 6 volumes] I. Logika, dio prvi: Dijalektika [Logic, Part One: Dialectics], 1904 II. Logika, dio drugi: Kritika ili noetika [Logic, Part Two: Criticism or Noetics], 1905 III. Opća metafisika ili ontologija [General Metaphysics or Ontology], 1907 IV. Kosmologija [Cosmology], 1909 V. Psihologija [Psychology], 1910 VI. Naravno bogoslovlje [Natural Theology], 1915
See also Antun Mahnić Ivan Merz
References