Janez Frančišek Gnidovec
Died | 3 February 1939 Ljubljana, Slovenia | (aged 65)
---|---|
Buried | Church of the Sacred Heart, Ljubljana |
Motto | I became all things to all men |
Janez Frančišek Gnidovec,
Gnidovec was also a member of the Congregation of the Mission, which he joined in 1919.
His cause of canonization commenced on 15 December 1977 under
Early life
Janez Frančišek Gnidovec was born on 29 September 1873 in
He worked on the farm with his father and tended cows and pigs as part of his chores. He started attending school at age seven in Ajdovec, where the school had only one grade. He continued his schooling in
Gnidovec moved to
Gnidovec taught catechism from 1904 to 1905 in Kranj, and was relieved of that duty in 1905, when he was appointed to be a teacher in a diocesan-run college, where he served as its chancellor. Gnidovec was well liked and respected due to his outstanding knowledge and his personal qualities, and both students and teachers alike looked upon him as an ideal role model.[1]
During World War I he tended to wounded soldiers and learned to speak Hungarian so that he could tend to Hungarian soldiers. He bought the sacraments to them and tended to them with words of comfort.
Gnidovec decided to leave his position in order to enter the Congregation of the Mission - or the Vincentians - and he bid farewell to the staff and students where he was teaching on 6 December 1919. He was received and began his novitiate on 7 December 1919 where the provincial superior commented of him in a letter to the superior general: "Gnidovec is a man of best spirit, ready for every task and he is a saint according to his confreres".[1]
Bishop of Skopje
After the creation of the
In 1924, Gnidovec became quite apprehensive of a meeting he was to have with the
His first aim as a bishop was the complete reform of all seminaries and he went back to Slovenia to meet with bishops and his congregation's provincial superior to ask for priests to which he was allowed. Religious movements were something he wished to have introduced in his new diocese and due to him, orders such as the Legion of Mary became active in the diocese; other organizations such as Catholic Action also came to prominence. Gnidovec wanted families to model themselves on that of the Holy Family and he placed a strong importance on the first Friday of each month, asking families to set them aside for worship. When travelling to parishes, he did so either via horseback or by bike or by foot. Gnidovec also understood the importance of the media in promoting the faith, and it led to the new magazine launch on 25 March 1928 of "Blagovijest" (The Good News).[1] Another aim was to establish good ecumenical dialogue with other faiths and in particular this pertained to Islam and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Due to him relations flourished and tensions between the faiths ceased.
Falling ill in 1938 hampered his celebrating Christmas to which he did with great trouble. He went for a medical examination in January 1939 where it was discovered that he had a brain tumor, and he spent a month in hospital and was in enormous pain. He underwent such pain with great docility and offered his suffering to God. He died on Friday, 3 February 1939, the first Friday of the month. All mourned him, even the Muslims who said of him: "a saint has died".
Beatification process
The beatification process commenced in Ljubljana on 15 December 1977 in a diocesan process that accorded him the title
On 27 March 2010 he was proclaimed to be
The alleged miracle required for his beatification was investigated on a diocesan level from 13 January 2005 until 24 July 2006, and was granted the decree of validity from the Congregation on 9 June 2007. The postulation reported on 23 February 2014 that two medical experts that the Congregation appointed did not approve the miracle.
The current postulator assigned to the cause is Shijo Kanjirathamkunnel, C.M.
References
- ^ a b c d e "Janez Francisek Gnidovec". Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ "Venerable Francisek Gnidovec". Saints SQPN. 28 March 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ Concordat between the Holy See and the Realm of Serbia in 1914