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Without Borders The history of Drenov National

HISTORY OF DRENES AND DRIVES BDM OF KARMELSKA ON THE LOWER ROWS

The original text of Mons. Gabriel Bratina about the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, processing and photographs by Christian Grailach.


With this writing, I want to embed a stone in the mosaic of the past of the settlement of Drenova, describe how it became a parish and who its pastors were from its foundation to the present day.

Rijeka, a maritime and commercial city as a spiritual center did not have its own diocese, but until 1787 it was under administration in Pula, and then under the administration of the Senj-Modruš diocese until 1925. It had three churches and 14 chapels, and the whole city and its surroundings belonged to the parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary near the sloping tower (Duomo). Drenova was also involved in this municipal and ecclesiastical division. Because of work, commerce, administration, health, education and religious needs, the people of Drenovci had to go to the city.

It is a happy fact that at that time, in 1835, as a catechist in the parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a wolf was appointed. IVAN CVETKO with an additional chaplain service for the area of Drenova where he came to serve Sunday Mass in the chapel of All Saints at today's central city cemetery. He came from Delnice where it was necessary to walk a lot from school to school and from church to church so that he found himself in agreement with the local people and after a short agreement with him he addressed the civil and ecclesiastical authorities with a request for the establishment of a parish on Drenova with the following arguments: people are good, but neglected and untrained, workers have to leave home two hours before if they want to get to work on time and the same effort awaits them on their return, the old people hardly go to the city and can not return without someone else's help. A particular problem is children: They don't have a proper suit, they don't have shoes, it happens that the barefoot go to a certain place, they get dressed there and pass the way to the city. The worst is when their peers from the city mock and laugh at them because they look so miserable. All this was the reason to discuss this at the first meeting of the city council and, in agreement with the diocesan ordinary in Senj, to decide on the establishment of a new parish on Drenova, the first to separate from the home parish in the city. It was 1838. Thanks to Ivan Cvetko, a parish apartment was built in the Terzy area (Terčevo selo) where he temporarily opened an elementary school attended by children from the surrounding area. The next great success and merit of Ivan Cvetko is the construction of the parish church, which was completed in 1847. As an interesting fact, it is worth mentioning that the church in the outer dimensions was built in only three months and that two masonry masters and assistants worked on the construction as much as he was looking for a job, and all together it was on a voluntary basis. The third major work left by Ivan Cvetko was the construction of the first part of the primary school, while the second part was added in 1913 when the Old School took its present form.

Ivan Cvetko
Ivan Cvetko

After 10 years of catechetical service in Delnice and 32 years of service in the Drenov parish, which he founded, he was appointed canon of the First Cathedral of Rijeka Kaptol. ‘Goodbye, people!’ were the last words of farewell he said on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on 16 July 1870 and left. He lived another 14 years in the river. He was buried in the oldest Drenova cemetery, and by the construction of a university settlement his mortal remains were moved to today's Old Cemetery in Donja Drenova. For all the credit Ivan Cvetko gave them, the people of Drenovci repaid by giving his name to the central town square.

The second pastor on Drenova, the successor of Ivan Cvetko, was FABIAN SHIROLA. The memorial of the parish during his service mentions the Jubilee proclaimed by Pope Leo XIII in 1881. There is also an official visit of the Bishop of Senj-Modruš, Mr. Juraj Dr. Posilović to the parish of Drenova in 1883. An event worthy of remembrance occurred on February 13, 1884 when Maria Antonietta, the Grand Duchess of Toscana, visited Drenova with the knight Lazarini and watched with admiration the panorama of Rijeka.

The third pastor who is inscribed in the Monument of the parish is ANTUN LADIĆ. He led the parish from 1884 to 1903. He edited the church from within and founded a company of girls of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who ceased to function in the First World War.

EXIDOR GUDAC He was active in the parish from 1903 to 1906 when he took over the parish in Gerovo (Gorski Kotar). In his time, the first, old cemetery was abandoned because there is no more place for burial and today's Old Cemetery of Donja Drenova was blessed, where Lucija Francetić was first buried. A larger intervention was also done on the parish church when the bell tower was built in its present form instead of the original, lower and pyramidal form. They also acquired a new organ made by Pietro Bazzani from Venice.

Heir to Vladč.Izidor Gudc, the administrator of this parish was appointed mr. PAVAO ŽIGAR, The former chaplain in Ogulin. At the time of his administration, a division arose among the people because the capitulate Vikarijat rightly asked to be removed from the parish. There were some who believed in him, and there were those who believed in him. Priests came from Rijeka to celebrate Holy Mass at least on Sundays, but they came across a closed church. This lasted for almost four years when in 1910 Mr. Roko Vučić was appointed bishop of Senj-Modruš and proposed, in agreement with the magistrate, to launch a competition for the parish priest, to which both sides agreed. Between three candidates; Pavle Žigar, Pavle Oršić and Mate Polić were elected.

MATE POLIĆ He officially became pastor on April 11, 1911. In the Monument of the parish, he notes that that same year he edited the interior of the church and purchased a new main altar at the Ferdinand Stuflesser company in Tyrol. He mentions a great drought and the occurrence of cholera disease, and in 1913 he describes the extension of the Old School building towards Brdina. Sarajevo's assassination marked the beginning of World War I and parish priest Polić keeps records of all parishioners who had to go into the army (214 in total) – 25 killed, 10 maimed and 31 captured in Russia. During the war, the military ministry requisitioned all three bells from the church bell tower and two bells from the chapel of All Saints. Even the metal parts of the organ were requisitioned, so they played only two years. After the war wolf. Polić took care of the nutrition of the hungry population until 1919 when he was transferred to Ogulin.

In the post-war circumstances and new circumstances, he was replaced by his domestic son from Pula ALEKSANDAR SUPERINA who served here until 1926 when he went to Kraljevica because in 1925, a new Diocese of Rijeka was founded, and he wanted to serve in Senj-Modruš.

Since the Treaty of Rapallo and the Treaty of Rome came into force in the meantime, and the Drenova became part of the Italian part of Rijeka, by the decision of the new bishop of Rijeka, Izidor Sain, he was appointed pastor at Drenova vlč. GIUSEPPE MARIOTTINI from Arezzo, Italy, serving as a chaplain in the Italian army.

A very important man in the history of the Drenov church, sociable and noble, very sensitive to the needs of the workers for whom he was looking for a job, and he had success in this because he was close to the civil authorities in the city. Unfortunately, the Second World War is in sight with all the horrors, camps and deaths. When the arrests occurred, he went to command and as a former military chaplain guaranteed for his parishioners and in the vast majority of his intervention was successful and saved many lives.

He died in 1948 and was buried in the Old Cemetery in Donja Drenova. Next to him were later moved and buried the remains of Ivan Cvetko, so that these two deserving Drenov priests rest together.

After his death, the state administration nationalized the parish apartment and on the ground floor moved two families, and in the basement adapted the space, first for the youth organization, and later for the Kindergarten Bubamara.

Since the priests did not have a place to stay in the parish, they ruled from the residential parish. In this way, they served on Drenova: TOMO KARMELIĆ from St. Peter's Parish. Romuald until 1956, VJEKOSLAV SUČIĆ from the same parish until 1960, ANTON PERKAN from the seminary until 1968, and MARIJAN DUJMIĆ from Viškovo until 1969.

On October 5, 1969, he took over the priesthood. GABRIAL OF BRATINA and moves into the northwestern part of the parish apartment, which is emptied by the relocation of teacher Božo Črnjar and wife Marija Črnjar to the old school.