350 YEARS OF FRANCISCAN PRESENCE IN ČAKOVEC

Motif: Franciscan church in Čakovec The year two thousand and nine shall be commemorated in Čakovec by celebrating Franciscan’ jubilees: eight hundred years of the Franciscan order and three hundred and fifty years of Franciscan presence in Čakovec. Saint Francis of Assisi is the founder of the order of Friars Minor (Franciscans). The founding date is April 16, 1209 when Saint Francis of Assisi asked Pope Innocent III to approve his way of life dedicated to God and his neighbour’s good. The order spread with a rapidity unexpected as it was unprecedented. The first Franciscans arrived to Croatia already during St. Francis lifetime. Since their arrival to these parts through the entire history Franciscans established numerous parishes and monasteries in these parts, nevertheless the historical conditions of difficulty and struggle caused closing down of numerous of those establishments. On the territory of the Republic of Croatia today we have the Parish of the Most Holy Redeemer with the seat in Split, the Parish of Saint Jeronimus with the seat in Zadar and the youngest founded in 1900, the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius with the seat in Zagreb and the monastery of St. Nicolas in Čakovec. Franciscans arrived to Čakovec at the invitation of the count, Vice Roy and poet Nikola Zrinski VII of Čakovec in the year 1659. The Ladislau Custody held its General Chapter on the first of February 1659 in Varaždin and father Maksimilijan Tkalčević was nominated the Custos. At the same time the Bishop of Zagreb and local ordinary, Petar Petretić was asked to give approval and a blessing to the founding of a monastery in Čakovec. After discussing the issue with father superiors of other monasteries in the broader surroundings of Čakovec, Bishop Petar Petretić in September, 1659 adopted the decision on founding a monastery in Čakovec. Father Franjo Riđanec, brother Juraj Sinko, brother Vinko Stefanović, father Ferdinand Zelniczey and father Benedikt Juran who was nominated for father superior of the monastery under construction at that time arrived to Čakovec. Upon founding the monastery first brothers embarked on a quest of developing an affluent religious life based on teachings of St. Antonius, assiduously disseminating his preaching and honouring the feast day of Our Lady of the Angels – Porziuncola – and in direct connection with it the Porziuncola indulgences, granted only in Franciscan churches since the year 1620. Undoubtedly Franciscans were present in the Zrinski family as confessors and spiritual leaders taking care of soldiers’ families as chaplains. A wooden monastery and the church burnt to the ground in 1699 and a present day monastery was built in 1702, the church adjacent to it in 1707. The inauguration of the newly built church building was held in June 14, 1750. Franciscans observed the rules laid down by their founder St. Francis and developed respect for him and Franciscan Brotherhood of the Belt known today under the name of Franciscan Secular Order. A special devotion toward the Holy Cross started to gain ground after the fire in 1741 when the cross remained intact by the fire and still today on display in the adjoining chapel of the monastery church. At the end of the eighteen century after coming into possession of Saint Vincent’s remains, a martyr and a deacon, Franciscans introduced worshiping and reverence for St Vincent on a church holiday of Our Lady of the Angels, Porziuncola. In the 18th century among other things a theological academy was also opened at the monastery for the St.Ladislau’s Province, where philosophy, moral theology and rhetoric were taught. Maksimilijan Vrhovec, Bishop of Zagreb, established a new parish of St Nicolaus on November 8, 1789, and the management of the parish was allocated to the Franciscan order. The Parish was active until 1999 when, within newly founded Varaždin diocese, new parishes were established on the territory of the St.Nicolaus parish. Franciscans community in Čakovec has actually been responsible for the management of the two parishes since. In the course of the entire history of St. Nicolaus parish, brothers were curators of souls and clergymen not only in schools, they were also the originators of numerous societies or active members of other societies providing for spiritual care and needs. Engaged in numerous activities brothers contributed enormously to the perseverance of the national identity at the time when Međimurje was under the Hungarian jurisdiction. Nevertheless according to the church rules this region has always been under the jurisdiction of bishops and archbishops of Zagreb. Between the two World Wars Franciscans contributed immensely to undertakings of the organisation «Katolička akcija», and their numerous activities and engagements reached such proportions that they engaged vigorously in construction of their own Catholic Centre completed in 1938. This year Franciscans community in Čakovec celebrates several important jubilees and this postage stamp is issued on the theme of celebrating these important jubilees.