Mihai Robu (also known as Mihail or Mihaiu Robu; ; 10 April 1884 – 27 September 1944) was a Romanian cleric, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Iași in 1925–1944. He was born to Hungarian-speaking Csángó parents in Western Moldavia, but, throughout his life, professed Romanian nationalism and encouraged assimilation. He trained for the priesthood in Iași, at the Roman Catholic Institute, then became noted as a propagandist of his church in the majority-Orthodox country. Robu founded the Catholic publishing enterprise Presa Bună, put out the magazine Lumina Creștinului, and, during World War I, served various Moldavian parishes. His career in interwar Greater Romania was helped along by his 1920 return to Iași, initially as secretary to Bishop Alexandru Cisar.
In 1925, once Cisar had been promoted Archbishop in Bucharest, Pope Pius XI unusually selected Robu as his replacement in Iași; he was preferred for his status as a native of the diocese, and is widely regarded as the first Iași Catholic bishop to count as a native (of either Romania or Western Moldavia). Monsignor Robu, whose jurisdiction extended into Bessarabia and Bukovina, had many projects which required financing, prompting him to seek sponsors abroad. He also had quarrels over this issue with the Romanian state, turning to political Catholicism and encouraging his eccesiastical subjects to vote as a single bloc in national elections. He agreed with Catholic anti-Nazism, and deplored the passage of racial laws by Nazi Germany, though he remained critical of Romanian Jews as a group.
World War II reshaped Robu's diocese, beginning with the Soviet takeover in Bessarabia and parts of Bukovina. In subsequent population transfers, Robu lost many German and Székely congregants. He had to step in and prevent his fellow Csángós from moving into Regency Hungary, while also managing to persuade the Romanian dictator, Ion Antonescu, not to deport all or most Catholics as a "foreign" population. After Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the diocese retook its lost parishes, and also expanded into Transnistria Governorate. While agreeing with Antonescu's nationalist agenda and supporting it with missionary priests, Robu also challenged the regime's involvement in the Holocaust, by protecting Jewish converts to Catholicism. The aging Monsignor lived to witness Antonescu's downfall in 1944, but died shortly after, from pneumonia, while seeking shelter in Beiuș.
Biography Early life and priesthood Robu was born in Săbăoani, Roman County, on 10 April 1884, Iași: Comemorarea episcopului Mihai Robu at the Iași Roman Catholic Diocese site almost three years after the establishment of a Romanian Kingdom. He descended from the more affluent portion of the peasant class in Moldavia.Iosif E. Naghiu, "† Episcopul Mihaiu Robu", in Universul, 26 October 1944, p. 3 Ioan "Ianuș" Robu, who was Mihai's grandfather, Emil Ioan Robu, Jubileu istoric: bicentenarul naşterii deputatului catolic Ianoș Robu (1812–1889) din Săbăoani at the Iași Roman Catholic Diocese site had been peasant deputy in the ad hoc Divan of the late 1850s. As a Catholic by birth, he was informed by his peers that he could not serve, since Divan membership was limited to adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Ioan protested, telling them that there could be no taxation without representation; following the establishment of the United Principalities, and revisions of the electoral law, this Robu served in the 1864 legislature.Coșa, p. 197
Interwar newspapers describe Bishop Robu as an ethnic Romanian who spoke eloquently in "sweet Romanian".Dan., "O comemorare importantă în lumea catolică de la noi: 25 ani de activitate bisericească a episcopului Robu", in Opinia, 6 April 1932, p. 2 His father, known as Iosif"Consacrarea întru episcop a I. P. S. S. Mons. Mihai Robu", in Curierul Parohiei Catolice de Galați, Vol. I, Issue 5, October 1925, pp. 71–72 or Iojă Robu, is described in such contexts as a "simple plowman". As reported by historian Mihály Laczkó, the Robus were actually of Hungarian origin, with both of Mihai's parents listed as Csángós.Laczkó, p. 40 The same is argued by teacher and monographer Mihai Perca, who describes Robu as a fellow Csángó.Laura Iancu, "Könyvismertetések. Mihai Perca: 2012 Rădăcini. Despre maghiarii din Moldova (ceangăii). [Gyökerek. A moldvai magyarokról (csángók)] Kiadó és hely nélkül", in Ethnographia, Vol. 125, Issue 1, 2014, p. 639 Robu himself never denied that this was the case: in a 1932 interview for Erdélyi Lapok, he confessed that his mother tongue was Hungarian, which he still spoke. However, he also held the belief that the Csángós were Magyarized Romanians, stating that he took no issue if the community underwent voluntary Romanianization and language death.György Beke, "Lelkek szabadságharca", in Új Ember, Vol. XLVII, Issue 45, November 1991, p. 2 By contrast, during the interwar his brother and sister still used Hungarian names, introducing themselves as Rab András and Rab Maria. The bishop himself is occasionally known as "Rab Mihály".Laczkó, p. 41
Young Robu finished primary schooling in Săbăoani. Moving to Iași, he entered the Roman Catholic Institute in 1894, with a focus on philosophy and theology. He was ordained deacon in 1906 and priest on 23 April 1907. For several years, starting before his priestly ordination, Robu was in charge of the Iași seminarians. He was deeply involved in Catholic propaganda, helping to set up the Presa Bună publishing house, which put out his own prayer book and textbooks, and, in 1913, the religious magazine Lumina Creștinului (to which he contributed a long series of theological and historical articles).
Upon the start of World War I, Robu was confronted with a rise of anti-Catholic sentiment, and produced articles which aimed to demonstrate that his congregation was traditionally loyal and patriotic.Coșa, p. 198 During the subsequent defensive military campaigns of 1916–1918, when the seminary was closed, Robu was a parish priest at Văleni, Faraoani and Bacău. In 1920, he returned to teach when the seminary reopened, and was named secretary to Bishop Alexandru Cisar. In 1922, he was named parish priest at Horlești and chaplain at an Iași monastery. He contributed to the moralizing effort by translating Christoph von Schmid's "Wonderful Doctor" story, published by Presa Bună in early 1924."Informațiuni. Biblioteca 'Presa Bună'", in Clujul Românesc, Issue 20/1924, p. 3 In February, Robu and his colleague Markus Glaser, who was supervising Catholic parishes in Bessarabia, were taken in as supernumerary privy chamberlains of the Papal Court.Ciobanu, p. 122
Beginnings as Bishop In early 1925, after having assigned Cisar to lead the Archdiocese of Bucharest, Pope Pius XI selected Robu as his Bishop in Iași. While formally underqualified, he was favored by the Holy See due to his great popularity and his local roots, immediately advancing ahead of the non-native clergy. He is thus widely seen as the first native (or more strictly Romanian) Catholic ever to occupy that seat,Ciobanu, p. 122; Laczkó, p. 40; Bogdan-Mihai Mandache, "'Cred că de acum se va putea vorbi de un adevărat ecumenism' — Convorbire cu Msgr. Petru Gherghel, episcop al Diecezei de Iași", in Cronica, Vol. II, Issue 15, April 1990, p. 4 though Cisar himself is viewed as such by some authors. Robu went through the main formalities on 5 July 1925."Ultimile știri. Informații", in Lumea Politică și Socială, 12 July 1925, p. 4 The investiture ceremony was officiated by the outgoing Cisar on 20 September, at the Institute compound."Programul consacrării de azi a noului episcop catolic", in Lumea Politică și Socială, 21 September 1925, p. 3 Attendees included Robu's father, who was visibly moved, and who was the first person to be blessed by the Monsignor in his new robes.
The event was received with some astonishment by members of the majority Romanian Orthodox Church, since it had been attended by officials of the nominally distinct Greek Catholic Church. Such critics concluded that there was no longer any merit to the claim that Greek Catholics had separate agency."Știri religioase. Episcop catolic nou", in Lumina Satelor, Issue 42/1925, p. 4 Throughout the remainder of his life and career, Robu encouraged close cooperation between the two sister institutions, and allowed some of the churches in his own diocese to use the Byzantine Rite. Orthodox–Catholic disputes were meanwhile enhanced by Robu's 1929 interview with Ana Jurgea-Negrilești, issued as a brochure at Presa Bună. Though referring to the Orthidox as "kindered siblings", he was rejected by them for demanding their communion with Rome, on the basis of "all-too-familiar sophistry"."'Treceți la unire cu Roma'. Propagandă mai nouă. — Un 'memorandum'. — 'Presa Bună', în seria religioasă", in Telegraful Român, Issues 61–62/1929, p. 5
Robu's activities in office included the building of numerous churches, special attention to the seminary and the opening of a new one at Luizi-Călugăra, support for the Catholic press, and many visits to parishes in the diocese. His first tour of Bessarabia came in May 1927, when he also met Gurie Grosu, the local Orthodox Metropolitan.Ciobanu, pp. 122–123 The Monsignor was by then under financial pressure to achieve his many goals, and began charity-seeking tours—later in 1927, he visited the Republic of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Weimar Germany, and the Low Countries."Episcopul Robu de la Iași cerșind prin Europa. Cum se aplică legea cultelor?", in Adevărul, 9 November 1928, p. 3 In autumn, while praying in Przemyśl Cathedral, he discovered a painting documenting the Moldavian raiding of southern Poland in 1497, which included the martyrdom of several Franciscans. The discovery was communicated through Lumina Creștinului, sparking debate among Romanian historians regarding Stephen the Great's defense of Orthodoxy and his condoning of anti-Catholic violence.Nicolae Brînzeu, "Fost-a Ștefan cel Mare dușman al catolicilor?", in Adevărul, 30 June 1928, p. 3 He resumed his tours in late 1928, when he met with Pope Pius in Vatican City. On his way there, he visited the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Lugoj and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Timișoara, holding mass alongside bishops Alexandru Nicolescu and Augustin Pacha. Robu was set to continue with visits to Western Europe, where he was seeking additional sponsors. The effort was deplored by Adevărul newspaper, which observed that Catholics from the Old Kingdom, who had been outstandingly loyal to the Romanian state, resorted to "begging", whereas their formerly Austro-Hungarian colleagues in Transylvania had no financial worries.
On his return, Robu met with the Romanian Premier, Iuliu Maniu, demanding that his diocese be awarded "100 hectares of arable land, as per the law on religious affairs.""Informații", in Lumea Politică și Socială, 23 March 1929, p. 4 He had disputes with Romanian officials over various other issues, such as the right to both advertise and receive state stipends for Catholic schools in Iași and Galați.Farcaș, p. 246 Like Cisar, he began looking into political Catholicism—but surpassed his predecessor in suggesting that Catholics needed to have their own representatives in Parliament, as a way of protecting their communal interests.Farcaș, p. 245 He and Glaser also encountered a specific problem in Bessarabia, where many churchgoers, especially those in relationships with people of other faiths, ignored marriage as a sacrament, but still attended regular services.Ciobanu, pp. 125–126
Within Catholic anti-Nazism