Dr. Anton Mahnič, also spelled as Antun Mahnić in Croatian ortography (14 September 1850 – 30 December 1920), was a Slovene and Croatian Roman Catholic bishop, theologian and philosopher, founder and the main leader of the Croatian Catholic movement.
He was born in Kobdilj near Štanjel in the Austrian County of Gorizia and Gradisca (in today's Slovenia). He finished theological studies in Vienna and then he worked as a priest and a teacher in Gorizia. During this period, he became actively involved in the Slovene political life, criticising the liberal and liberal Catholic current within the Slovene national movement.
In 1896, he became a bishop of Krk (Croatia).
Very soon in his bishopric he initiates many religious societies and activities, and starts with a Catholic publishing, from which the most important were magazine for Christian philosophy called Hrvatska straža. In the same time he initiates founding student catholic magazines and societies all over the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. He wrote many articles and works from theological, philosophical, esthetical and political area. Later Mahnić initiates Pius society, which fruit was week newspaper Jutro. Later all of these groups of Catholic intellectuals, gathered around these papers, joined together in one unique movement (for more see the article Croatian Catholic movement) before the First World War. After the War, he was persecuted during the Italian occupation, so he went to Zagreb, where he died.
Mahnić's main goal was defending and promoting Catholic faith and its moral principles in Croatian public and social life, which were endangered by liberalization and secularization. Also important issue for him was gathering and spiritual and intellectual education of the youth.