FATHER ANTUN CVEK – THE GOOD SPIRIT OF ZAGREB

Father Antun Cvek, priest of the Society of Jesus, great humanitarian and friend of the elderly, the sick and the poor. He is also known as the “good spirit of Zagreb” and one of the greatest Croatian humanitarians. He was born in Bizek near Zagreb on 10 February 1934. He completed the auto body mechanic training, passed the master craftsman’s examination and was employed at Zagreb Electric Tram from 1957 to 1967. In the same year, he joined the Society of Jesus and studied philosophy and theology. He was ordained a priest in 1974. From 1969 until his death in 2019, he managed the apostolate for elderly and disabled persons. At the Parish of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus of the Basilica in Palmotićeva Street in Zagreb, he established the so-called First Charity Group for visiting underprivileged persons. At the same time, he also established the Community of Christian Love as a point of spiritual support and support in prayer in field work. This apostolate served as the basis for the establishment of “A Drop of Kindness”, a Catholic association for helping the most deprived persons, which he founded together with his associates in 1990. He was one of the founders, and from 2002 also the manager of the Bishop Josip Lang Foundation for helping elderly, sick and poor persons. For several years, he published reports on the hardships of the elderly and the poor in the Journal of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary (“Glasnik Srca Isusova i Marijina“). Those articles were eventually turned into the following books: From the Diary of Rejects (“Iz dnevnika otpisanih“), I Live, yet I Do Not Exist (“Živim, a ne postojim“), Remember Me (“Sjeti me se“) and Don’t Forget Me (“Ne zaboravi me“). He passed away in fame of sanctity in 2019, at the age of 85. During his life, he received numerous honours, as well as the lifetime achievement medal of the Order of Danica Hrvatska, which was awarded to him by the President of the Republic of Croatia. Father Mijo Nikić, PhDPresident of the Bishop Josip Lang Foundation