Top photo: Sarcophagus of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac behind the main altar of Zagreb Cathedral. (iStockphoto/Getty Images)
Aloysius Stepinac came from a peasant family, born in Brezarici near Krasic (Croatia) on May 8, 1898. He was the fifth out of eight children, and his mother always prayed that he might one day become a priest. In 1916, Stepinac was mobilized into the Austro-Hungarian army and fought on the Italian front until he was taken prisoner. In 1919 he returned to civilian life and enrolled the University of Zagreb to study agriculture. Stepinac decided to become a priest in 1924 and was sent to Rome to prepare and was ordained six years later on October 26, 1930.
He returned to Zagreb in July of 1931 with the degrees of Doctor of Theology and Philosophy.
Soon afterwards, Stepinac was chosen to become secretary to Archbishop Antun Bauer. On June 24, 1934, he was nominated as coadjutor archbishop of Zagreb with the right of succession to the episcopal see. At the age of 36 and almost four years of priesthood he was the youngest bishop in the world. After this nomination, Stepinac stated: “I love my Croatian people and for their benefit I am ready to give everything, as well as I am ready to give everything for the Catholic Church.” After Bauer’s death on December 7, 1937, Stepinac became the Archbishop of Zagreb.
In 1935, the First Congress of Franciscan Professors from all Slavic countries was held in Zagreb. At the end of the Congress, the coadjutor Archbishop Stepinac entered the Franciscan Third Order in Zagreb.
During the Second World War, Stepinac never turned his back on refugees, or the prosecuted. His door was always open not only for Croatians, but also Jews, Serbs and Slovenes that needed his help. Stepinac always stood for political freedom and fundamental rights, and he always advocated the rights of the Croatian people. Stepinac wanted Croatia to be a country of God.
In May of 1943 he openly criticised the Nazis, and as a result, the Germans and Italians demanded that he be removed from office. Pope Pious XII refused and warned Stepinac that his life was in danger. In July of 1943, the BBC and the Voice of America began to broadcast Stepinac’s sermons to occupied Europe, and the BBC commented on Stepinac’s criticism of the regime.
Significant in this regard are the words that Bishop Stepinac pronounced in 1943: “What system does the Catholic Church support today, when the whole world is fighting for a new world order? We, in condemning all injustices, all killings of innocents, all burnings of peaceful villages, every destruction of the labours of the poor, …, respond thus: the Church supports that system which is as old as the Ten Commandments of God. We are for the system, which was not written on corruptible tablets, but which was inscribed by the finger of the living God in the consciences of men” (Homilies, Discourses, Messages, Zagreb 1996, 179-180).
After 1945, Stepinac became one of the most daring defenders of religious freedom against the Tito’s communist regime. At the end of the war, Stepinac was found guilty of Nazi collaboration at a rigged trial and on October 11, 1946, was convicted and sentenced to sixteen years in prison and hard labor. He spent five years in a maximum security prison of Lepoglava, and in 1951, Tito’s government released him and confined him in house arrest in Krašić, his birthplace. He could not go to Rome to be officially appointed cardinal nor later attend conclaves upon the death of Pius XI, as he was not sure whether he would be able to return to his homeland. He wished to remain with his people no matter the cost. Even though he was forbidden by the government to resume his duties, Stepinac was named Cardinal by Pope Pius XII on January 12, 1953. Due to pain caused by the many illnesses he contracted while imprisoned, Cardinal Stepinac died in Krasic on February 10, 1960. On February 13, he was buried behind the main altar in the cathedral in Zagreb. On one occasion pope Pious XII stated that “this Croatian Cardinal is the most important priest of the Catholic Church”.
When speaking of the Franciscan dimension of Alojzije Stepinac’s life, it is enough to recall the fervour with which he dedicated himself to proclaiming the Word of God. His zeal was not merely rhetorical but deeply lived, expressed in simplicity and detachment from worldly possessions. This spirit shines most clearly in his three spiritual testaments, especially the one written in 1959, just four months before his death. There he states: “Apart from the aforementioned valuables that I received as gifts (a pectoral episcopal cross from Pope Pius XII and Pope John XXIII), I leave no property, either movable or immovable. Whatever I received as Archbishop of Zagreb, and was not necessary for my personal needs, I used according to the regulations of the Church Code – for the poor and for pious purposes.”
Liturgical Memorial: February 10th.
Sources:
https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/alojzije-stepinac.html
https://tabor.hr/aktualno/blazeni-alojzije-stepinac-franjevacki-trecoredac/
https://www.zg-nadbiskupija.hr/blessed-aloysius-alojzije-stepinac/7069