Josip Štadler

The Most Reverend Josip Štadler Servant of God
Archbishop of Vrhbosna
Archdiocese	Vrhbosna
Province	Sarajevo
See	Sarajevo
Appointed	18 November 1881[1]
Successor	Ivan Šarić
Other posts	Apostolic Administrator of Banja Luka (1882-1884)
Orders
Ordination	24 May 1868[1]
Consecration	20 November 1881[1] by Raffaele Monaco La Valletta
Personal details
Birth name	Josip Štadler
Born	(1843-01-24)24 January 1843 Slavonski Brod, Croatia
Died	8 December 1918(1918-12-08) (aged 75) Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Buried	Cathedral of Jesus' Heart, Sarajevo
Nationality	Croat
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Đuro and Marija (née Balošić)

Styles of Josip Štadler
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

Josip Štadler (24 January 1843 – 8 December 1918) was a Croatian priest, the first modern archbishop of Vrhbosna and the founder of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus (Croatian: Služavke Maloga Isusa). He is a candidate for sainthood.

Štadler was born in Slavonski Brod in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria in what is today modern Croatia. Early in life he lost his parents. He was taken care of by the Oršić family. He started his education in Slavonski Brod, and continued it in Požega and Zagreb where he attended gymnasium. In Rome he attended the Pontifical Gregorian University where he attained a doctorate in philosophy and theology. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1868 and returned to Zagreb. He was a gymnasium professor at a seminary and later a university professor at the Catholic Theology Faculty in Zagreb.

In 1881, the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina was reinstated for the first time after first years of thirteen century, when the last bishop of Vrhbosna was evicted by Bosnian ban Kulin and left Bosnia for Đakovo, in Slavonia, part of Hungarian Kingdom at the time.^[2] Pope Leo XIII named Štadler as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna in Sarajevo. He worked in faith, culture and national fields. Under his direction, the Cathedral of Jesus' Heart was built, along with the seminary and church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. In Travnik he helped build the gymnasium and seminary, as well as many churches and women's seminaries throughout the country.

He founded the women's order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus with the intention of helping impoverished and abandoned children and others. He sent a plea to Vienna, to Franziska Lechner to send nuns to Sarajevo. These nuns came and helped the poor as well as taught in the city's schools. He formed the orphanages Betlehem and Egipat for children and a home for the elderly.

Štadler was especially reverent to Corpus Christi, which he made the feast of the archdiocese. He was also very faithful to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. He died in Sarajevo in his 75th year on the feast day of the Assumption. He was succeed by Ivan Šarić. Štadler was buried in Sarajevo's cathedral. During Pope John Paul II's visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 12, 1997 the pope prayed at Štadler's grave.

The process for his canonization began in Sarajevo on June 20, 2002.

See also

• Antun Mahnić
• Ivan Merz

References

v t e Archbishops of Vrhbosna Cardinal-Archbishops Vinko Puljić Archbishops Josip Stadler Ivan Šarić Marko Alaupović Smiljan Franjo Čekada Marko Jozinović Auxiliary Bishops Anton Bonaventura Jeglič Tomislav Jablanović Pero Sudar

v t e Ordinaries of the Diocese of Banja Luka Bishops Josip Stjepan Garić Dragutin Čelik Alfred Pichler Franjo Komarica Auxiliary Bishops Marko Semren Apostolic Administrators Josip Stadler Marijan Marković Smiljan Franjo Čekada