Ivan Zaffron (Italian: Giovanni Zaffron; 8 June 1807 – 16 September 1881) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of Šibenik from 1863 until 1872 and bishop of Dubrovnik and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1872 until his death in 1881.
Church of Saint Justina in Korčula
Ivan Zaffron was born Korčula to a noble family. His father was a Venetian captain, and his mother was Ivanka née Depolo. He was baptised in the Korčula Cathedral on 12 July 1807 by Fr. Roko Zaffron.[1]
Zaffron was educated in Zadar and later studied theology in Mariabrunn near Vienna. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Antun Giuriceo in Mandaljena on 2 September 1832. After his ordination, Zaffron served as a parish priest in Smokvice and Čare. He was appointed religious teacher at school in Korčula on 15 December 1837.[2] While a parson in Korčula, he ordered three smaller churches of Saint Roch, Saint Blaise and Saint Sergius be demolished, and built a larger mausoleum-like Church of Saint Justina.[3] Zaffron also constructed the first meteorological station in Korčula and was its first observer.[4]
After the death of Bishop Vinko Zubranić of Dubrovnik in 1870, the episcopal seat of Dubrovnik remained vacant for almost two years,[7] when Zaffron was selected to succeed him on 13 February 1872. He was finally confirmed on 29 July 1872.[5] Simultaneously, he gained administration over the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan in the Ottoman Empire, which was at the time administered by the bishops of Dubrovnik.[8] As bishop of Dubrovnik, Zaffron supported the Autonomist Party.[9]
Immediately after taking office, Zaffron sent a letter to the foreign minister of Austria-Hungary Gyula Andrássy suggesting several measures to improve the lives of the Catholics in the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan, among which was the introduction of Jesuits or Trappists, and Sisters of Mercy or Handmaids of Charity for the girl education. He also asked the government to help with new schools and larger donations. However, his plans were obstructed after Christian uprising broke out against the Ottomans.[10]
After the uprising, the Treaty of Berlin allowed Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina.[11] During the talks about the organisation of the Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Governor of Dalmatia General Gavrilo Rodić and Zaffron opposed the idea that Trebinje-Mrkan should be exempted from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Dubrovnik. However, the Catholic population and clergy wanted their own bishop. Zaffron later supported the initiative, and proposed Apostolic Vicar of Egypt Bishop Ljudevit Ćurčija as a new bishop of Trebinje-Mrkan.[12]
However, the Austrian-Hungarian government couldn't meet these requests due to financial obligations and the consideration for the Eastern Orthodox, as it couldn't allow the Catholics, who were fewer in number, to have more bishops than the Eastern Orthodox, so they agreed in the Convention of 1881 to leave Trebinje-Mrkan under the administration of the bishop of Dubrovnik.[12]
After a period of illness, Zaffron died in Korčula on 16 September 1881.[5] He is buried in the Church of Saint Justina in Korčula.[3]
Carmichael, Cathie (2015). A Concise History of Bosnia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN9781107016156.
Gjivoje, Marinko (1968). Otok Korčula[The isle of Korčula] (in Croatian). Korčula: Self-published.
Matijaca, Ivo, ed. (1976). Lanterna sv. Marka[Lantern of St. Mark] (in Croatian). Korčula: Župski ured.
Pandžić, Krešo; Žibrat, Zvonko, eds. (2014). 160 godina meteoroloπkih motrenja i njihova primjena u Hrvatskoj[160 years of meteorological observations and their application in Croatia] (in Croatian). Korčula: Župski ured.
Perić, Ivo (1990). Politički portreti iz prošlosti Dalmacije[Political portraits from the past of Dalmatia] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Književni krug.
Puljić, Ivica (1986). "Trebinjsko-mrkanska biskupija u XIX. stoljeću" [Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan in the Nineteenth century]. Katolička crkva u Bosni i Hercegovini u XIX i XX stoljeću: povijesno-teološki simpozij prigodom stogodišnjice ponovne uspostave redovite hijerarhije u Bosni i Hercegovini[The Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 19th and 20th centuries: A historical-theological symposium on the occasion of the centenary of the restoration of the regular hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina] (in Croatian). Sarajevo: Vrhobosanska visoka teološka škola.
Journals
Vrankić, Petar (2016). "Izbori i imenovanja biskupa u Hercegovini u doba austro-ugarske vladavine (1878. - 1918.) na primjeru biskupa fra Paškala Buconjića" [Elections and appointments of bishops in Herzegovina during the Austrian-Hungarian rule (1878 - 1918) on the example of Bishop Fr. Paškal Buconjić]. Hercegovina (in Croatian). 2: 109–140.
