Zagreb, September 7, 1998 (IKA) — One of the most significant Croatian theologians, academic Fra Tomislav Janko Šagi-Bunić, Ph.D., member of the Capuchin Province of St. Leopold Bogan Mandić, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ministry and the 75th year of his life on Sunday, September 6, at a Solemn Mass in the parish Church of St. Michael [sv. Mihael] in the Dubrava section of Zagreb. The Mass was celebrated by Fra Šagi-Bunić and the homily was delivered by Fra Bonaventura Duda. The Eucharist was concelebrated by over 30 priests, including the Croatian Capuchin provincial, Fra Jure Šarčević; the president of the Croatian Conference of Superiors of Orders and the Salesian provincial, Don Stjepan Bolkovac; the provincial of the Third Order Franciscans, Fra Petar Grubišić; the deputy provincial of the Franciscan Conventuals, Fra Marko Puškarić; the Dominican provincial, Fra Marinko Zadro; and the Jesuit provincial, Fr. Franjo Pšeničnjak. Also present were numerous priests and nuns, as well as fellow brothers from Slovenia and many believers. Among the written congratulations read at the beginning by Fra Jure Šarčević were those from Archbishop Josip Bozanić of Zagreb. After the Mass, on Stjepan Bolkovac and Dr. Franjo Šanjek, dean of the Catholic Faculty of Theology, spoke about the life and work of Fra Tomislav Šagi-Bunić, pointing out his contribution to the modernization of theology according to the directives of the Second Vatican Council, and his extensive literary activity through which he contributed to the development of theological thought in the Church among the Croats.
Fra Tomislav Janko Šagi-Bunić was born in Brodarovac near Varaždin on February 2, 1923. In 1949, he graduated from the Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, and received a doctorate from the same institution in 1952. He entered the Capuchin order in 1940, and was ordained as a priest in 1948. From 1955 to 1958, he was provincial of the Illyrian Capuchin Province in Croatia and Slovenia. Beginning in the academic year 1951/52, he taught at the Catholic Faculty of Theology until his retirement in 1993. In 1960 he habilitated, in 1965 he became an associate professor and in 1968 he became a full professor at the same faculty. For many years, he chaired the Department of the History of Christian Literature and Christian Doctrine. During his long professorial career, in addition to his subjects of Christology, patrology, history of dogma, an introduction to the Mystery of Christ and the history of Salvation, Fra Šagi-Bunić also taught many treatises from dogmatic theology, philosophy and methodology. He was the dean of the faculty several times: 1969-1971, 1974-1978 and 1990-1992. With his outstanding legal and administrative talents, he made a great contribution to the Catholic Faculty of Theology. During the most difficult times of the history of the faculty, he retained his scientific integrity and successfully developed and furthered the school#!s many activities.
As a private theologian of the archbishop of Zagreb following Cardinal Franjo Šeper, he lived in Rome and participated in the events of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). During the same period, he completed significant studies on the great controversies in early Christianity. In the first convocation, he was a member of the International Pontifical Theological Commission of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1969) and a member of several bodies of the Holy See and the Croatian Conference of Bishops. He was one of the founders of Kršćanska sadašnjost – Center for Conciliar Research, Documentation and Information (1968). He is a member of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Zagreb chapter of the PEN Club (since 1971).
After over fifty years of scientific and publicist activity, his bibliography includes more than 600 of the most varied works. He had many of his works published in Glas Koncila and Kana because at the time it was the only possibility for him to communicate with a broad readership. In the scientific world, he particularly affirmed himself as a writer of very significant monographs on the controversialists of the first centuries of Christianity, particularly the Council of Chalcedon (451). An international reputation is enjoyed by his works “Duo perfecta” et “duae naturae” in definitione dogmatica Chalcedonensi (Rome, 1964), Deus perfectus et homo perfectus (Rome, 1965) and others. In the Croatian language, he distinguished himself with extensive works such as Povijest kršćanske literature od početka do sv. Ireneja [History of Christian Literature from the Beginning to St. Irenaeus] (Zagreb, 1976) and Euharistija u životu Crkve kroz povijest [The Eucharist in the Life of the Church Through History] (Zagreb, 1984). His theological articles, particularly on Conciliar topics, were compiled in three volumes: Ali drugog puta nema [But There is No Other Way] (Zagreb, 1969, 1972 and 1985) and Vrijeme suodgovornosti, I-II [Time of Shared Responsibility, I-II] (Zagreb 1981 and 1982).
He also distinguished himself as a theological thinker, actively participating even during the communist regime in important discussions on the relations between the Church and state; Christian, Marxist and atheistic ideologies; ecumenicism in our territories etc. He made a worthy contribution concerning theological questions about the building of Croatian statehood and the role and contribution of the Catholic Church therein, as evidenced by his works Crkva i domovina [The Church and Homeland] (Zagreb, 1970) and Katolička Crkva i hrvatski narod [The Catholic Church and the Croatian Nation] (Zagreb, 1983).
In all of this, he has affirmed himself as a multidimensional and original observer of the times in which he lives, revealing the “signs of the times” in the light of theological principles and contemporary, social, cultural, political and religious events.