National Shrine of Saint Joseph (Croatian: Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa) is a Croatian Catholic national shrine dedicated to Saint Joseph located in the city of Karlovac, in Parish of Our Lady of the Snows.[1]
| National Shrine of Saint Joseph | |
|---|---|
Nacionalno svetište sv. Josipa | |
 | |
 | |
| 45°29′43″N 15°31′53″E / 45.4954°N 15.5314°E | |
| Address | Boškovićeva 36, Karlovac |
| Country | Croatia |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Website | svetijosip |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | national shrine |
| Designated | 15 April 1987 |
| Architect(s) | Josipa Šponar Muth |
| Years built | 1968–1974 |
| Groundbreaking | 14 July 1968 |
| Completed | 15 September 1974 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | concrete |
| Bells | 3 |
| Administration | |
| Metropolis | Zagreb |
| Archdiocese | Zagreb |
| Parish | Our Lady of the Snows (Dubovac) |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | mons. Antun Sente |
St. Joseph is a patron saint of Karlovac, Karlovac County and Croatia.[2]
History
editParish
editEarliest written mention of the parish is found in the records of the Diocese of Zagreb in 1334.[1] Parish was founded around Dubovac Castle, named after Croatian word for oak ("dub"), as it was surrounded by and oak forest.[1] Originally, parish was dedicated to Saint Michael, to whom chapel near the castle was dedicated.[1] By the end of the 17th century, new chapel was erected at the hill near the Dubovac Old City, which was proclaimed parish church in 1741 and consercrated to Our Lady of Snows.[1] Nowadays, parish has around 5,000 parishioners.[1] Besides parish church and the shrine, there are also calvary dedicated to Saint Anne and Greek Catholic chapel of the Wounded Jesus.[1]
The initiator of the construction of the church and sanctuary was Msgr. Marijan Radanović (hr), who was parson in Dubovac from 1955 to 1998.[3]
Sanctuary
editFollowing proclamation of St. Joseph as a patron saint of Kingdom of Croatia by Croatian Sabor on 9 and 10 June 1687,[4] Croatian bishops at their assembly in Split in 1972 confirmed "that the decision of the Croatian Sabor from 1687 is still in force, because the Sabor did not have in mind the abstract Croatian kingdom, but the Croatian people, who survive all vicissitudes surrounding their sovereignty...".[5]
Church construction started in 14 July 1968, with cornerstone blessed by then auxiliary bishop of Zagreb Franjo Kuharić; church was consecrated by archbishop Franjo Šeper on 15 September 1974.[6] The main designer of the building was Josipa Šponar Muth.[5] At Christmas in 1974, sculpture of St. Joseph was consecrated in the church.[6] In 1975, bell tower was finished and sculpture of St. Mary was consercrated.[6] Way of cross was finished and placed in 1979.[6] In 1980, three church bells were purchased and dedicated to St. Joseph (980 kg), Mother of God (520 kg) and St. Francis of Assisi (297 kg), all of which were consecrated and blessed by archbishop mons. Franjo Kuharić.[6] In 1983, the organ was installed and blessed by auxiliary bishop of Zagreb Mijo Škvorc.[6] Stained glass elements were made by Croatian painter Josip Botteri Dini.[7]
Together with Zagreb Cathedral, Croatian National Shrine of Saint Mary of Marija Bistrica and Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Krašić, during 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy it was among the four churches with Doors of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Zagreb.[8]
After a one year preparation, on 1 September 2021 Josip Botteri Dini started placing his altar mosaic with a scene of the Nativity of Jesus.[7] At the time of its installation, it was the largest church mosaic in Croatia.[9] The mosaic was blessed by auxiliary bishop of Zagreb Mijo Gorski on 8 December 2021.[9] Mosaic consists of 168 surfaces with the total area of 120 m2 and 2,500 pieces of industrial and Murano glass.[9]
Publishing
editSanctuary publishes quarterly magazine Glasnik svetog Josipa (hr, "The Messenger of the St. Joseph"), founded by Josip Stadler in 1873.[10]
Pilgrims and devotions
editShrine feast days are 19 March (feast day of St. Joseph), which is preceded by nine Wednesdays of preparation (Great novena to St. Joseph),[11] 1 May (St. Joseph the Worker) and 15 September (consercration day, "Posvetilo crkve").[4] Every Wednesday devotions to St. Joseph are held.[12]
As part of the sanctuary, the devotion "Wreath of the Immaculate Heart of Joseph" (Vijenac Prečistog Srca Josipova) was created, which consists of prayer wreaths consisting of 31 supplicants, leader and priest. Each member is responsible for having his own prayer day on a certain day of the month for specific purposes, which consists of the Rosary, attendance at Holy Mass, Holy Communion, confession, and if possible, fasting.[13] The Brotherhood of St. Joseph for aid to the dying (Bratovština svetog Josipa za pomoć umirućima) also operates within the sanctuary, with hundreds of supporting members throughout Croatia and in the Croatian diaspora.[14]
Between 2015 and 2019 sanctuary was visited by around 210,000 pilgrims.[15] In 2023, there were 80,000 pilgrims.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "O Župi Blažene Djevice Marije Snježne" [About the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows]. svetijosip.com (in Croatian). National Shrine of Saint Joseph.
- ^ a b "U Josipovu svetištu obilježen Dan Karlovačke županije" [Day of Karlovac County celebrated in Joseph's sanctuary]. ika.hkm.hr (in Croatian). Informative Catholic Agency. 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Preminuo mons. Marijan Radanović" [Msgr. Marijan Radanović dies]. zg-nadbiskupija.hr (in Croatian). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb. 16 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Nacionalno svetište sv. Josipa" [National Shrine of St. Joseph]. karlovac-touristinfo.hr (in Croatian). City of Karlovac Tourist Board. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014.
- ^ a b "325. obljetnica proglašenja sv. Josipa zaštitnikom hrvatskog naroda" [325th anniversary of proclamation of St. Joseph as a patron saint of Croatian people]. bitno.net (in Croatian). 28 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "O Nacionalnom svetištu sv. Josipa" [About the National Shrine of St. Joseph]. svetijosip.com (in Croatian). National Shrine of Saint Joseph.
- ^ a b "Počelo postavljanje mozaika u Nacionalnom svetištu svetog Josipa u Karlovcu" [Installation of mosaics in the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Karlovac has begun]. zg-nadbiskupija.hr (in Croatian). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb. 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Jubilee Shrines in Zagreb: Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy". gcatholic.org.
- ^ a b c "Najveći crkveni mozaik u Hrvatskoj sinoć blagoslovljen" [The largest church mosaic in Croatia was blessed last night]. karlovacki.hr (in Croatian). 9 December 2021.
- ^ Paulić, Patrik (31 July 2018). "Novi broj Glasnika svetog Josipa" [New issue of the Glasnik svetog Josipa]. akademija-art.hr (in Croatian).
- ^ "Karlovac – na Dubovcu počinje Velika devetnica na čast sv. Josipu" [Karlovac – Great novena to St. Joseph starts in Dubovac]. zg-nadbiskupija.hr (in Croatian). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb. 18 January 2012.
- ^ "National Shrine of St. Joseph". zg-nadbiskupija.hr. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb.
- ^ "Molitveni vjenčići djelo su sv. Josipa". zg-nadbiskupija.hr (in Croatian). Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022.
- ^ "Bratovština svetog Josipa za pomoć umirućima". Glasnik svetog Josipa. Vol. CVI, no. 1. March 2020. p. 61. ISSN 1330-4550.
- ^ Pisk, Dora (2021). Vjerski turizam u Hrvatskoj s analizom Svetišta Majke Božje Bistričke i Nacionalnog svetišta svetog Josipa Crkve u Hrvata [Religious tourism in Croatia with an analysis of the Croatian National Shrine of Our Lady of Bistrica and the National Shrine of Saint Joseph Church of Croats] (Thesis) (in Croatian). Karlovac: Veleučilište u Karlovcu. p. 28.
External links
edit- National Shrine of St. Joseph on Dubovac in GCatholic.org
