Zagreb (IKA) — A five-day symposium on Fra Andrija Kačić Miošić, a distinguished figure of our Church and culture and the culture of his times, which the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences together with the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer organized on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Kačić’s birth, was formally inaugurated on November 3 at the Palace of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Zagreb. The symposium is being held under the sponsorship of the speaker of the Parliament, Vladimir Šeks. Due to obligations, Speaker Šeks was not able to participate at the opening ceremonies but in a letter of greeting pointed out that as the speaker of the Croatian Parliament, he had gladly accepted the sponsorship of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Croatian writer Fra Andrija Kačić Miošić. Although the author of other works, Kačić’s Pleasant Discourse of the Slavic Nation is his most important work, but also one of the most important works of old Croatian literature, Šeks emphasized. He also mentioned that this work, intended for the general public, played a crucial role in the democratization of the Croatian society, in the literacy of the Croatian nation and acquainting the broad Croatian public with the nation’s past and its struggle to survive and gain independence. Precisely for these reasons, Kačić’s work penetrated the borders of the regional limitations of Croatian literature of the time and reached all parts of Croatia, emphasized the speaker of the Parliament, noting that Kačić’s Pleasant Discourse was printed in seven editions from 1756 to 1826, which shows how much interest there was in this work and how much impact it had.

Pointing out that three full centuries have elapsed since Antun, the son of Bartul Miošić and his wife Manda, was baptized on April 17, 1704, the president of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Academic Milan Moguš, noted that throughout these three centuries, Andrija Kačić Miošić has been present without interruption in Croatian literature as a writer whose works are read with pleasure in the largest number Croatian families, houses, villages and cities, in all corners of the country.

The Provincial of the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer with headquarters in Splilt, Fra Željko Tolić, Ph.D., noted that Fra Andrija Kačić Miošić is one of the worthy men and brilliant stars in the heavens and the Franciscan Province. He pointed out that Fra Andrija was a model monk and priest, a general lecturer and university professor of philosophy and theology, the author of philosophical and theological texts, a writer who influenced European Romanticism, especially the Czech national Renaissance, and who had a greater impact and significance among the Croatian nation than any other writer. Dr. Tolić recalled that Kačić lived and worked at a time when southern Croatia, as a consequence of the domination of the Venetian Republic, was politically crushed, economically impoverished and culturally backward. It was under such circumstances in Croatian history that the Catholic clergy came on the scene, who strove to foster cultural and educational activities, despite Venetian vigilance. In this respect, the Franciscans who printed popular books and thus spread piety, i.e. taught the people and strengthened their national consciousness, were outstanding, recalled Dr. Tolić.

The symposium, which will shed light on the life, activity and impact of Kačić’s works on Croatian and European culture, will also be held in Sinj, Makarska, Mostar, Bris and Zaostrog.