Gabriel Bratina

One of the people who has indebted Drenova over the past fifty years has been Fr. Grabriel Bratin. Born in 1931 in Otlica near Ajdovščina, Slovenia, he arrived at the Rijeka Seminary in 1949, ordained a priest in 1954, serving in our parish since 1969. On October 23, 2004, he celebrated his celebration of gold medals (50 years of priesthood ), and on August 30, 2009, he was more than deservedly retired and left the parish to the management of the new administrator. His many merits are for the common good of our parish; taking care of all church buildings, upgrading the church and building a pastoral center, the chapel of All Saints (in the new cemetery) and on Veli Vrh. Favorite with the locals, always affordable, quiet and unobtrusive. A true priest, a spiritual director to many people and always at the service of the Church and the people. On 25 November 2020, he passed away and returned to the Father, in 89 Years of Life i 66 Years of Priesthood.

Over the years, we have had excellent cooperation and a large part of the digital archive of our Regional Museum Drenove contains documents (numerous rarities) that Gabriel gave us to store and digitize, and thus save from oblivion.

Damir Medved, President of the Association without Borders

Over the years, we have met with him several times in our Drenovski list. These conversations and conversations paint him beautifully. Let's remember our Gabriel.

From an interview with Larissa Smokvina for “Drenovski list” No. 4, July 2006.

Almost 37 years ago, a man came to Drenovo, known to both children and adults, believers and non-believers, natives and settlers.  And I'm sure, all those with whom he spoke mildly at least once, felt his message within themselves.

Monsignor Gabriel Bratina, our first permanent pastor, respected among fellow priests, respected among the faithful.  As Drenova marks its days and the feast of Carmel in July, and the church of Our Lady of Carmel is an important element of community in the settlement, I spoke with our Reverend. 

I've been thinking for a long time, how to write a few sentences in the given spatial frames that would describe it. For what can I say about a man who taught me religion, and taught me faith, hope, and love?  I can write what I know and how I experience it, and I share it with you readers : 

My favorite Slovenian, born in 1931 in Otlica near Ajdovščina, was educated in his homeland and finished high school in Italy.  After World War II, he returned to Slovenia and studied theology in Rijeka, intending to remain a priest for the Italian minority. In 1954 he was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Rijeka. In his biography are the services of vicars, chaplains and priests in Cvitović, Generalski stol and the economist of Semenište in Rijeka.

He arrived at Drenovo when 485 native people lived there. He says that he “sneaked” into the parish apartment thanks to professor Božo Črnja, who in the Old School, today Cvetkov trg, asked for another apartment from the school authorities, and with the kindness of the Saršon family he still lives in the same place today. The new rectory is under construction, and our Reverend God's shepherd for at least five thousand souls.

Although he has been on Drenova for a long time, his priestly life is still dynamic. With his inexhaustible enthusiasm and good will in the years he has, he also surprised the workers who restored the church by helping them as much as he knew and could.

A passionate nature lover, a longtime mountaineer, led and still does the chronicle of our parish, the Blessed Virgin Mary of Carmel. Collecting for years all sorts of stone remains on which human hands worked, he also found a tile embedded in the foundation of the chapel on Drena built in 1628, dedicated to Our Lady of Carmel, and by which our present church, built in 1847, is dedicated to the same Lady.

I remember how small and unsightly she was, but my generation (born in the early 1970s) gladly came to Mass, and later to religious education with Reverend Gabriel. We were a team, and although life has guided us in different directions, even today when we meet, we remember the communion that this great man has instilled in us. Many of us have been baptized, communiond and married, and today he distributes these same sacraments to our children. 

Although he should have retired under canon law, the Reverend is still with us, and I want it to be forever. Yes, not much longer, because I can only make sentences about kindness, peace, happiness, understanding, selflessness and the eternally young spirit of our Gabriel, I conclude:  God sends us a call through people with whom we share life's destiny, and in the figure of Reverend Gabriel Drenova she got her angel.

Reverend Gabriel never imposed his vocation on anyone, never refused to help anyone, to listen, to give advice... I believe that few priests are like him, in today's, unfortunately, shaken belief of many in the institution of the Church.  Maybe I'm just too subjective.

 – Everything is still changing and people are somehow distant from each other, but the church is a place where they meet regularly. They met families, children. – says Reverend Gabriel.  He has been a priest for more than fifty years, celebrated his golden Mass in October two years ago, and, no matter how difficult it was, he would have chosen the same vocation again – he says.

---

40 years of msgr. Bratine na Drenova – “Drenovski list” No. 18, October 2009.

After 40 years Serving the faithful of Drenova, August 30th this year, Fr. Gabriel Bratina, for all the people of Drenovci, held a mass of thanksgiving marking the retirement of this humble and self-denying priest and man.

Gratitude for many years of dedicated priestly work was expressed by the youngest, children and their catechists, and the supreme Venerable Mother of the Society of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sr. Felicita Špehar.

On behalf of the faithful Drenova thanked the Reverend Mrs. Mirjana Palada Kmetović with inspired and touching words. Mrs. Mirjana's speech from which we can learn something from the life of the wolf. Gabrijela is transmitted in its entirety:

When they asked me to say a few words on the occasion of the retirement of our pastor Fr. Gabriel Bratine, countless ideas began to swarm in my head, countless situations that I should mention, but, of course, the time for these few words is limited and I should have limited my memories to some of the most memorable moments.

I would like to reiterate the words of our archbishop, who said for our humble and beloved pastor in commemoration of his goldsmithship five years ago that he is living a credible, authentic priestly life, fully committed to Christ, to his brothers and sisters and to the Church.

The path of the spiritual vocation of our pastor began in Rijeka when he came by train to our city and when, enquiring around the city for the path to the seminary, he was sent to the seed store. It didn't shake him, nor did many of the hardships he went through. Even immediately after his ordination in 1954, at that time reluctant to the faith and believers, due to a maliciously interpreted sermon, he spent a month in prison. Several parishes of Lika have passed to our parish: Slunj, Cvitković and Generalski Stol, where he certainly left his mark.

As all the paths of our pastor lead to Rijeka, he returned to Rijeka as an economist of the Seminary.

Exactly 40 years ago, back in 1969, man came to the moon for the first time, and our pastor came to our parish!

At that time she had only 485 souls, so the pastor for a time: From 1971 to 1981, he served next to our parish and in the parish of St. John the Baptist. St. George's on Upper Drenova.

There were not many of us, so he, then young and full of enthusiasm, easily performed parish duties in both parishes. Before his eyes, Drenova changed and grew from a village into a large town. Since then, our parish has grown many times, but it has not outgrown the great heart of our pastor, his dedication and his spirit.

I remember the goodness of our pastor from his youngest days, through his youth until now. In every part of my life, he left his mark: He gave me his first Holy Communion, he was with me at the Holy Confirmation, he brought my husband and I into marriage. Almost every Drenov family had moments of happiness and sadness through which the safe hand of our good parish priest Gabriel Bratina – the great Brother – guided it.

Five years ago, as he celebrated his golden Mass, he who can be a model of good for all of us, in his immense modesty, begged us – sinfully his flock for forgiveness if he offended someone, if he scandalized someone. And we can say without hesitation and with pride that we have a living blessed, a living saint beside us - a hard-working, quiet, peaceful, prudent, devoted and unobtrusive miracle worker who created a miracle of communion with us new Drenovci.

We are happy that our beloved parish priest will stay with us in his retirement days, what will be with us and what will be with our new parish priest Marijan Benković, who we believe is a good student to the great teacher Gabriel and to whom we wish happiness and God's blessing in leading our parish.

I'll use a sports dictionary: Our pastor Gabriel set the bar high!  But we are sure that, with the support of our retired pastor and with our support, Marijan can reach that lath.

Dear parish priest, I thank you on behalf of our parish and all the inhabitants of Drenova for your kindness and for everything you have done for each of us and for our entire parish. I thank you on my own behalf, on behalf of all those who are here now with us and on behalf of all those you have encountered during these 55 years of your service, on behalf of all of us to whom you have been a lighthouse, because each of us has received a touch of your kindness, patience and the light of your good soul. On behalf of all, I can say that we hope and want you to spend many more peaceful and beautiful years with us.

Mirjana Palada Kmetović

On the occasion of the retirement of Fr. Gabrijela Bratine we talk about his 55 years the Priestly Life of which 40 spent in the service of the faithful of our parish. (Conversation led by Christian Grailach)

Reverend, how come you decided to retire?

I will try to illustrate this with verses from the 90th Psalm of the Book of the Old Testament:

The sum of our age is seventy years,

if we are strong, and eighty;

And most of them are tormented by nullity:

 Because they're going fast and we're flying out of here.

Who shall measure the fierceness of thy wrath, and who shall know thy wrath?

Teach us to count our days, that we may gain a wise heart.

I would like to start this conversation with these Bible verses because they talk about the years of life in which I myself find myself and which teach us how the time comes in life when we must become aware of the transience of time and turn to ourselves and our heart.

For starters, tell us a little about yourself.

I was born in Otlica, a village near Ajdovščina in Slovenia where my parents were born and where I finished elementary school. I attended high school in Italy in Rovigo, Verona and Venice, according to the whirlwind of World War II. When, at the end of the war, the option of opting for Italian citizenship or repatriation was offered, I chose the latter with several colleagues and friends. We returned to our native Slovenia and I still remember the voluntary work actions in the war-torn country.

How did you decide on the priesthood?

There's a little interesting thing about it that I'm going to tell you. As a child, I was an altar boy in our church. On one occasion, a monk came to the village to collect food and clothes for those in need. These monks were called Capuchins. Our Reverend commissioned me to take him from house to house where his hosts gave him gifts. I was impressed by this young monk sacrificing himself for the good of others. This event stuck in my memory and maybe that is exactly what I decided to opt for the study of theology that I started and finished in Rijeka.

Upon graduation, in 1954 your life dedicated to the priesthood began.

So, first in Lika in the parishes of Slunj, Cvitković and Generalski stol, to come to Rijeka and serve as an economist in the Rijeka Seminary. Finally, in 1969, I came as a pastor to the parish of BDM Karmelske on Drenova, where I also received my retirement.

Coming to Drenova, as people would say, my axe fell into honey. From the very beginning, I liked the countryside, and especially the friendly local people. Shortly after arriving at Drenova, I was also a parish priest in the Church of St. George on Gornja Drenova, from 1970 until the arrival of Reverend Berislav Humski, who took over the parish in 1981.

The parishioners know you as, as the locals would say, a great delager. Here, a lot of your personal work is built into the renovated church and the newly built parish court.

I like to work, I am physically happy with the work, especially when I see the result of the work. In addition, I believe that others are best encouraged to work by personal example.

In the construction of a new parsonage and renovation and upgrading Church of the Wolf. Gabriel has done a lot of personal work.

There is also an anecdote related to your work.

I know what you mean! Even while I was serving on Upper Drena, we repaired the bell tower of the church of St. John the Baptist. George. One worker and I stood high on the scaffolding and beat the worn-out plaster. There is a man passing in the direction of Sarshone, shouting from the road to the worker next to me: “A little judi, you will arivat, tr has a pop soldi to pay you”. The worker didn't know what to say, he's looking at me, he's embarrassed, and this one will say again: “Somewhere you force it, there is a pop soldi”. Now I've had enough of this one, so he shouts: “Trubilo, how can you not see that this is a pop pul mane!?”. You can imagine what it was like for him, he left without saying a word.

Speaking of work, I am unusually pleased that we have succeeded, although not yet fully, in rebuilding and upgrading the church and building the rectory. Yet something visible remains behind me.

Finally, do you have anything to say to the parishioners?

I will repeat the words of the first Drenov teacher and priest Ivan Cvetko, who at his departure said:

If I have offended anyone in my service, if I have wronged anyone, forgive me. And if I have done anyone good, let him do the same to others.

---

Great jubilee of our Msgr. Gabrijela – “Drenovski list” No. 46, December 2019

On Sunday, November 10, at a solemn mass in the Church of the BDM of Carmel, she was celebrated 65th Anniversary Priesthood of our good Mons. Gabriel Bratine. The sermon was preached by a wolf. Žan Lebović Casalonga, a young priest born in our parish, whose celebrant was pastor for many years. Mons. Gabriel (as all Drenovci know and call him) was ordained on the feast of Christ the King, on November 31, 1954. Along with him, Mons. Ivoslav Linić, and the Holy Order was distributed to them by the then auxiliary Senj-Modruš bishop Josip Pavlišić.

The 50th anniversary of the arrival of Mons. Gabriel served his parishioners for 40 years when he retired in August 1969. On this occasion, he wrote in the parish book: My farewell to the faithful of this parish, which has been entrusted to me for 40 years, will be on August 30th. I would like to recommend myself to all with the same words spoken by Pope John Paul II in Trsat: “Pray for me while I am alive and when I am dead”.

---

INMEMORIAM – “Drenovski list” No. 47, December 2020

---