Leopold Mandić
{{short description|19th and 20th-century Catholic priest and saint}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix= Saint
|name = Leopold Mandić
|honorific_suffix= OFMCap
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1866|5|12|df=y}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|1942|7|30|1866|5|12|df=y}}
|feast_day = 12 May (30 July in Roman martyrology)
|venerated_in = Roman Catholic Church
|image = San Leopoldo Mandic.jpg
|imagesize =
|caption =
|birth_name = Bogdan Ivan Mandić
|birth_place = Herceg Novi, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austrian Empire
|death_place = Padua, Kingdom of Italy
|titles =
|beatified_date = 2 May 1976
|beatified_place =Saint Peter's Basilica
|beatified_by = Pope Paul VI
|canonized_date = 16 October 1983
|canonized_place = Saint Peter's Basilica
|canonized_by = Pope John Paul II
|major_shrine = Shrine of Saint Leopold Mandić, Padua, Italy
}}
File:Kościół św. Leopolda Mandicia w Herceg Novi.jpg
Leopold Mandić [Mandich], OFMCap (also known as Leopold of Castelnuovo; 12 May 1866 – 30 July 1942) was a Croatian Capuchin friar and Catholic priest,{{cite web|url=http://www.hkv.hr/izdvojeno/komentari/dvidmarovic/6645-veliki-svetac-i-rodoljub-bogdan-leopold-mandi.html|title=Veliki svetac i rodoljub, Bogdan Leopold Mandić|date=23 August 2010|work=hkv.hr|language=Croatian|accessdate=11 May 2013|quote=Tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata proveo je godinu dana u talijanskom zatvoru ne želeći poreći svoju hrvatsku nacionalnost.}} who suffered from disabilities that would plague his speech and stature. He developed tremendous spiritual strength in spite of his disabilities and became extremely popular in his ministry as a confessor, often spending 12–15 hours in the confessional.
Although Mandić wanted to be a missionary in Eastern Europe, he spent almost all his adult life in Italy, living in Padua from 1906 until his death. He also spent one year in an Italian prison during World War I, since he would not renounce his Croatian nationality. He dreamed unceasingly about reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches and going to the Orient. He became known as an Apostle of Confession and an Apostle of Unity.
Life
=Early life=
He was born Bogdan Ivan Mandić in the coastal town of Herceg Novi, in the Bay of Kotor, then in the Austrian Empire but today part of Montenegro. He was the twelfth child of Dragica Zarević and Petar Antun Mandić,[https://miraculousmedal.org/inspire/name-that-saint-leopold/ "Leopold of Castelnuovo", Bailica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal] owner of an Adriatic fishing fleet, natives of Zakučac (in the hinterland of the city of Omiš, 28 km from Split).
His family originates from Bosnia, from where they settled to Dalmatia and later in the Bay of Kotor.{{cite news|last=Rozić |first=Milka |date=21 May 2021 |title=Intervju biskup Ivan Štironja: Dio smo jedne Crkve i to je snaga koja povezuje |trans-title=Interview Bishop Ivan Štironja: We are part of the one Church and that is the strength that unites us |url=https://radio-medjugorje.com/vijesti/crkva/intervju-biskup-ivan-stironja-dio-smo-jedne-crkve-i-to-je-snaga-koja-povezuje/ |language=hr |work=Radio Mir Međugorje |accessdate=22 May 2021}}
Mandić grew up in the orbit of a community of Capuchin friars based in the Province of Venice who had served in his town for two centuries, dating from when the area was ruled by the Republic of Venice. Physically malformed and delicate, he grew to a height of only {{convert|1.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, with a clumsy walk. He also had a stutter and stomach ailments. Having felt called to follow that way of life, in November 1882, when he was 16, he went to Udine to enter the minor seminary of the Capuchin Venetian Province. Two years later he was admitted to the friars' novitiate in Bassano del Grappa, where he was clothed in the Capuchin habit and given the religious name of Leopold. On 3 May 1885, he made his first profession of religious vows, after which he was sent to pursue his studies for Holy Orders in Capuchin friaries in Padua and Venice. He made his profession of perpetual vows in 1888.
=Priesthood=
On 20 September 1890, Mandić was ordained to the priesthood at the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice at the age of 24 by Cardinal Domenico Agostini, Patriarch of Venice.
After his ordination, Mandić was sent to posts in various Capuchin friaries in the Venice region and in Croatia. He could not speak loudly enough to preach publicly.[https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-leopold-mandic/ "Saint Leopold Mandic", Franciscan Media] Among his various tasks were the teaching of the seminarians who followed him, as well as the household duties of the house, such as porter. Common to all his assignments was that of the duty of a confessor at the church which the friars served. This went on until 1906, when he was assigned to the Friary of Santa Croce in Padua. It was there that he would spend the rest of his life.
=Death=
Mandić suffered from esophagus cancer, which would ultimately lead to his death at age 76. On 30 July 1942, while preparing for Mass, he collapsed on the floor. He was then brought to his cell, where he was given the last rites. Friars who had gathered at his bed began singing Salve Regina and saw that Leopold died as they sang "O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary".
Veneration
As a result of the bombing during World War II, the church and part of the friary in Padua where Mandić lived were demolished, but his cell and confessional were left unharmed. He had predicted this before his death, saying, "The church and the friary will be hit by the bombs, but not this little cell. Here God exercised so much mercy for people, it must remain as a monument to God's goodness." The Sanctuary of Leopold Mandić was built to contain the confessional. Pope Paul VI beatified Leopold on 2 May 1976. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II during the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on 16 October 1983. Leopold is hailed as the "Apostle of Unity".
=Jubilee Year=
At the personal request of Pope Francis, Mandić's remains were brought to Rome for veneration during the 2015–2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. He and his fellow Capuchin friar, Pio of Pietrelcina, were designated as saint-confessors to inspire people to become reconciled to the Church and to God, by the confession of their sins.{{cite web|url=http://www.romereports.com/2015/09/30/two-great-confessors-chosen-for-the-jubilee-of-mercy-saint-pio-and-saint-leopold|work=Rome Reports|date=29 September 2015|title=Two great confessors chosen for the Jubilee of Mercy: Saint Pio and Saint Leopold|access-date=3 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004001910/http://www.romereports.com/2015/09/30/two-great-confessors-chosen-for-the-jubilee-of-mercy-saint-pio-and-saint-leopold|archive-date=4 October 2015|url-status=dead}} Their bodies were available for veneration, first at the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, administered by the Capuchin friars, then at St. Peter's Basilica.{{cite web|url=https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/roma-se-prepara-para-recibir-el-cuerpo-incorrupto-del-padre-pio-en-ocasion-del-jubileo-37035/|work=Aciprensa|date=4 January 2016|title=Roma se prepara para recibir los restos del Padre Pío en ocasión del Jubileo|language=es}}
Patronate
;Churches and parishes
- St. Leopold Mandić Croatian Catholic Parish, Victoria{{cite journal|language=hr|url=https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2019_06_62_1216.html|title=Odluka o dodjeli priznanja Povelja Republike Hrvatske za nesebičan i izniman doprinos u pružanju socijalne i duhovne skrbi te za dugogodišnju pastoralnu djelatnost mađu hrvatskim iseljenicima u Kanadi|year=2019|journal=Narodne novine}}
- St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić Church and parish in Dragunja Donja (hr){{cite web|language=hr|publisher=KTA BK BiH|url=https://www.ktabkbih.net/hr/vijesti/proslavljen-patron-zupe-dragunja/37665|title=Proslavljen patron Župe Dragunja|date=13 May 2013|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić Parish in Koprivnica{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://www.zupa-leopold-koprivnica.com/|title=Sveti Leopold Bogdan Mandić, Web stranice župe iz Koprivnice|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Mandić Parish and parish church (hr) in Orehovica near Bedekovčina, Croatia{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/zupa.lbm.orehovica|title=Župa svetog Leopolda Bogdana Mandića, Orehovica|publisher=Facebook|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Mandić Parish in Osijek{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://leopoldmandic1.com/|title=Župa Sv. Leopolda Mandića|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Mandić Parish in Požega, Croatia{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://pozeska-biskupija.hr/2019/10/03/zupe-2/|title=Župe|trans-title=Parishes|website=pozeska-biskupija.hr|date=3 October 2019 |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Požega|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Mandić Parish in Slavonski Brod{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/people/%C5%BDupa-sv-Leopolda-Mandi%C4%87a-Slavonski-Brod/100064366852094/|publisher=Facebook|title=Župa sv. Leopolda Mandića Slavonski Brod}}
- St. Leopold Mandić Parish in Virovitica{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://www.zupa-sv-leopold-mandic.hr/o-nama/|title=Župa sv. Leopolda Mandića|date=23 September 2015 |access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Mandić Parish in Ljubljanica-Voltino, Zagreb{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://www.zupa-leopold-mandic.hr/|title=Župa sv. Leopold Mandić, Zagreb Ljubljanica - Voltino|access-date=30 January 2024}}
;Monasteries
- St. Leopold Mandić Monastery (hr) in Travnik of Daughters of Divine Charity{{cite web|url=https://kblj.hr/o-nama/detaljnije/nase-zajednice|language=hr|title=Naše zajednice|trans-title=Our communities|website=kblj.hr|publisher=Daughters of Divine Charity in Croatia|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić Monastery and parish in Dubrava, Zagreb{{cite web|url=https://www.kapucinileopoldzagreb.com/|language=hr|title=Samostan i župa sv. Leopolda Bogdana Mandića Zagreb - Dubrava|access-date=30 January 2024}}
;Sanctuaries
- St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić Sanctuary in Maglaj{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://leopoldmaglaj.ba/|title=Svetište svetog Leopolda Mandića Maglaj|access-date=30 January 2024}}
- Sanctuary of Leopold Mandić in Padua
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.leopoldomandic.it/index.php/san-leopoldo/video-2/english/ The shrine and tomb of St Leopold Mandić – Padua, Italy (official website)]
- {{in lang|hr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070713021108/http://www.zupa-vela-luka.hr/sveci-opis.asp?svetac=144 Biografije svetaca Leopold Bogdan Mandić]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070202164450/http://www.beafriar.com/leopold.html Short biography of St. Leopold Mandić]
- {{in lang|hr}} [http://www.dugirat.com/content/view/1577/36/ Zakučac proslavio blagdan sv. Leopolda Mandića: Zakučac celebrates the feast day of its saint]
- {{in lang|hr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070715192434/http://www.glas-koncila.hr/rubrike_reportaza.html?broj_ID=5058 Živi' će nam ime makar granu sikli Reportaža Glas Koncila] Reportage of Glas koncila
{{Croatian saints}}
{{Portal bar|Saints|Croatia|Catholicism}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandic, Leopold}}
Category:People from Herceg Novi
Category:19th-century Croatian Roman Catholic priests
Category:Croatian Roman Catholic saints
Category:Croatian expatriates in Italy
Category:Montenegrin Roman Catholic priests
Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer
Category:Deaths from cancer in Veneto
Category:Beatifications by Pope Paul VI
Category:Canonizations by Pope John Paul II
Category:19th-century Christian saints