František Vavřinec Rabas, OFMCap (1901–1969) jako pedagog a blízký spolupracovník litoměřického biskupa Štěpána Trochty

The article is dedicated to Roman Catholic priest, František Rabas, who was in 1918–1946 member of the Friars Minor Capuchin and thus used his monastic name Vavřinec. The chief aim of the text is to connect his two, so far in effect separately perceived identities, that is, one of the Capuchin historiographer, teacher, and educator, the other of the Rector of the seminary in Litoměřice and a secret vicar general of the Litoměřice bishopric. For this ‘subversive’ activity, he was in 1954 together with his bishop, Štěpán Trochta, and other collaborators, sentenced to many years in prison. The authors present a comprehensive biography of a notable personage of the Czech Catholic Church and Catholic intellectual circles of the first two thirds of the twentieth century, whose life aptly demonstrates the developments in the Catholic Church.

Carol Cortobius Architecture

Carol Cortobius was an architect trained in Germany, with an initial practice at Otto Wagner in Vienna, who worked for the Hungarian community in Bucharest building churches. An introduction on the catholic Hungarian community in Bucharest will be given. Dănuț Doboș in a monograph of one catholic church in Bucharest offers an overview of all his works. For the three catholic churches on which he intervened (two built, one restored, but altered now) there are monographs showing archive images not available for the general public. Apart of the catholic churches (two of the Hungarian community) he also built the baptist seminar. Particularly the first built church, Saint Elena, is interesting as an early example of Art Deco and will be analysed in the context of the Secession in Vienna and Budapest, which will be introduced. With help of historic maps the places of the works were identified. Many of them do not exist today anymore because of demolitions either to build new streets or those of the Ceaușescu period (ex. the opereta theatre, a former pharmacy). Images of these were looked for in groups dedicated to he disappeared Uranus neighbourhood The paper will show where these were located. Some of the common buildings have an interesting history, such as the first chocolate factory. Another interesting early Art deco building is the pelican house. There are common details between this and the restored church. The research will be continued with archive research in public archives when the sanitary situation will permit.

Polish-Soviet War in Film and Cinema: A New Perspective Based on the Films For You, O Poland (1920) and Miracle on the Vistula (1921)

The Polish-Soviet War, particularly the Battle of Warsaw (13–25 August 1920), soon became a subject of legend and myth. Irrespective of its fundamental political significance, the defeat of the Red Army was glorified as salvation for both Poland and Europe in military, ideological and metaphysical terms. Conducted beyond academia, the narrative was forged mainly by veterans, the Catholic Church and various forms of literature and art. Due to government subsidies, documentary and feature films also conveyed a normative notion of these dramatic events and their participants. This article focuses on cinematic works like Dla Ciebie, Polsko [For You, o Poland, PL 1920], and Cud nad Wisłą [The Miracle on the Vistula, PL 1921] produced in order to commemorate the war between the Poles and the Bolsheviks. Taking the iconic turn, this article scrutinises the cinematic self-portrait of the Polish nation that had already been ‘imagined’ as a bulwark of European culture in the East by earlier literary works. Spotlighting protagonists who were given a place in the pantheon of national heroes, it also asks about those who were denigrated or marginalised like women and Jews. Finally, using quantitative methods and Geographical Information System (QGIS) as a tool, the article juxtaposes the maledominated, ethnically and confessional homogeneous ‘imagined nation’ with the film entrepreneurs and actual cinema audiences characterised by their diversity.

Martyrs and Missionaries: Strategies of Jesuit Sainthood between the Suppression and the Restoration

This article explores the promotion of “Jesuit sanctity,” in the delicate passage between the suppression and the restoration of the Society of Jesus, as a reflection of the process of revival of the order. The strategies of sainthood that were fostered by the ex-Jesuits during the suppression and by the restored Society reveal fundamental information about the self-image that the order wanted to show to the world. These strategies emerge clearly from the activity of the General Postulation for the Causes of Saints of the new Society of Jesus, which in the nineteenth century focused in particular on two models of sanctity: martyrs and missionaries (and often martyred missionaries). Presenting important case studies of Francesco De Geronimo and Andrzej Bobola, this article investigates the reasons why the Society of Jesus promoted these typologies of sanctity in lieu of the trauma of the suppression, which emerges as “martyrdom” in Jesuit sources, and in the process of re-establishment of the order. It eventually explores how this “policy” of sainthood fits more broadly in the history of the Catholic Church in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Environmental Activism of a Filipino Catholic Faith Community: Re-Imagining Ecological Care for the Flourishing of All

Extensive open-pit mining activities in the Philippines since the 1970s up to the present confront the meaning of the “Church of the Poor”, a description that the Catholic Church in the Philippines uses to visualize its prophetic mission. Alongside mining, many more environmentally destructive industries are present in the poorest areas in the country, even though the Philippines is disaster-prone and one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the devastating effects of the climate crisis. The environmental degradation has prompted many Filipino Catholic organizations and communities to act together through various campaigns to address the problem. The article examines a case of a faith-based community that rose to the challenge to address various environmental issues their community was and continues to experience. The community’s environmental activism presents a viable model for a re-imagined ecological care towards the “flourishing of all” as a response to Pamela McCarroll’s call to action to continue conversations on the many ways practical theology can move beyond anthropocentrism while focusing on social justice.