Nikola Tavelic
Encyclopedia
Nikola Tavelić is a saint
of the Catholic Church. This Franciscan
missionary
, who died a martyr
's death in Jerusalem, was the first Croatia
n saint.
Most sources mention Šibenik
as Nikola's birthplace, but another possible location is Velim near Stankovci
. In 1365, Nikola became a friar
in Bribir, the seat of the Šubić
, a powerful Croatia
n noble family.
Nikola was among 60 priests from various Franciscan provinces who were called by the Bosnia
n vicar
, motivated by Pope Gregory XI, to work as missionaries in Bosnia. He spread Catholicism around Bosnia for 12 years. In his report to the pope, the Bosnian vicar later said that the missionaries converted around 50,000 Bosnian heretics.
In 1384, Nikola went to Palestine
with the Franciscans Deodatus and Peter from Narbonne
and Stephen from Cuneo
. He stayed in the Mount Zion Monastery in Jerusalem, learning Arabian and visiting holy places. Together with his three friends, he was brought before the qadi
of Jerusalem and sentenced to death. All four missionaries were martyred near the Jaffa Gate on November 14, 1391.
, he sent a detailed report to Europe: Pope
, Leipzig
, Šibenik and elsewhere. Nikola was celebrated as a martyr by Franciscans all over Europe, especially in Šibenik.
Five centuries later, in 1880, the bishop Antun Josip Fosco from Šibenik started the procedure for the Holy See
to beatify
Nikola Tavelić. It was done by a special decree of the pope Leo XIII for the Šibenik Diocese in 1889 and for the entire Franciscan Order in 1898. Two years later, the same thing was done for the Holy Land
.
The cult of Nikola Tavelić grew between the world wars. He was canonized
by the pope Paul VI in front of 20,000 Croats
in Rome
, on June 21, 1970.
Most churches built in his name are located in Croatia. Some of them are in Banjevci, Cerovac
, Lišani, Perković
, Split
, Vinjani
, Zagreb
, Rijeka
and Županja
. Churches abroad can be found in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires
in Argentina
, Montreal
and Winnipeg
in Canada
, Melbourne
and Sydney
in Australia
and Tomislavgrad
in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Catholic Church. This Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, who died a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
's death in Jerusalem, was the first 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 ...
n saint.
Life
Šibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...
as Nikola's birthplace, but another possible location is Velim near Stankovci
Stankovci
Stankovci is a municipality in Croatia in the Zadar County. According to the 2001 census, there are 2,088 inhabitants, of which 98.6% are Croats and 0.7% are Serbs.Settlements in the community are:* Banjevci* Bila Vlaka* Budak* Crljenik* Morpolača...
. In 1365, Nikola became a friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
in Bribir, the seat of the Šubić
Šubic
The Šubić were one of the twelve tribes which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages; they held the county of Bribir in inland Dalmatia.-Origins:...
, a powerful 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 ...
n noble family.
Nikola was among 60 priests from various Franciscan provinces who were called by the Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
n vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, motivated by Pope Gregory XI, to work as missionaries in Bosnia. He spread Catholicism around Bosnia for 12 years. In his report to the pope, the Bosnian vicar later said that the missionaries converted around 50,000 Bosnian heretics.
In 1384, Nikola went to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
with the Franciscans Deodatus and Peter from Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Stephen from Cuneo
Cuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
. He stayed in the Mount Zion Monastery in Jerusalem, learning Arabian and visiting holy places. Together with his three friends, he was brought before the qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
of Jerusalem and sentenced to death. All four missionaries were martyred near the Jaffa Gate on November 14, 1391.
Canonization
The Franciscan Gerard Chalvet headed the monastery of Holy Salvation and saw their execution. Together with the Franciscan Martin from ŠibenikŠibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...
, he sent a detailed report to Europe: Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Šibenik and elsewhere. Nikola was celebrated as a martyr by Franciscans all over Europe, especially in Šibenik.
Five centuries later, in 1880, the bishop Antun Josip Fosco from Šibenik started the procedure for the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
to beatify
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Nikola Tavelić. It was done by a special decree of the pope Leo XIII for the Šibenik Diocese in 1889 and for the entire Franciscan Order in 1898. Two years later, the same thing was done for the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
.
The cult of Nikola Tavelić grew between the world wars. He was canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
by the pope Paul VI in front of 20,000 Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, on June 21, 1970.
Churches
The feast day of Saint Nikola Tavelić is November 14.Most churches built in his name are located in Croatia. Some of them are in Banjevci, Cerovac
Cerovac
Cerovac is a village in Šumadija region, 10 kilometers north-east from Kragujevac city, Serbia.The village is in 'shumadian' type, but is small. In the last census Cerovac had a population of 1000. The commuinity was organised administratively first in 1965, but was founded several centuries ago. ...
, Lišani, Perković
Perković
Perković is a village in the Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. The settlement is administered as a part of the city of Šibenik.According to national census of 2001, population of the settlement is 115....
, Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
, Vinjani
Vinjani
Vinjani is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, the village is located in the municipality of Posušje....
, Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
and Županja
Županja
Županja is a city in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, located 254 km east of Zagreb. It is administratively part of the Vukovar-Syrmia county. It is inhabited by 12,185 people ....
. Churches abroad can be found in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires
Hurlingham, Buenos Aires
Hurlingham is a city in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It forms part of the Gran Buenos Aires metropolitan area and is situated 23 km west of the city centre...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...
in Bosnia-Herzegovina