EUHARISTIC CONGRESSES IN CHICAGO (1926) AND ZAGREB (1930) IN A SYSTEM OF POLITICAL REPRESSION

Dva Euharistijska kongresa pobudili su posebnu pozornost represivnih tijela Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca/Jugoslavije. Prvi je Euharistijski kongres koji se održao 1926. godine u Chicagu. Drugi je priredio nadbiskup Antun Bauer u Zagrebu 1930. godine. Povod prisjećanju na te eminentno vjerske manifestacije nije njihova duhovna poruka, nego podsjećanje na političko ozračje u kojem su se održali. Položaj Hrvata općenito i katoličkog svećenstva napose u bio je općenito nezavidan, a pogoršao se uvođenjem kraljevske diktature 1929. godine. Mnogi su, naime, zbog vrlo bezazlenih razloga poput nošenja hrvatske trobojnice u bilo kojem obliku završavali na sudovima ili trpjeli žandarmerijske i policijske batine. Pojačao se policijski nadzor nad pučanstvom, a katolički svećenici našli su se na posebnu udaru policijskoga nadzora. Dok je kongres u Chicagu pobudio zanimanje državnih vlasti zbog bojazni negativna utjecaja hrvatskog iseljeništva na eventualne hodočasnike, Euharistijski kongres u Zagrebu 1930. godine bio je obilježen policijskim nadzorom i žandarmerijskim šikaniranjem. Ovaj je rad temeljen na policijskim izvješćima o pripremama za kongres te o praćenju nekih svećenika i političkih djelatnika. Svećenici su bili praćeni i ranije, o čemu je također riječ na temelju policijskih izviješća. Kongres je ipak bio mirna manifestacija katoličkih vjernika na kojoj se dogodio jedva koji manji politički incident. Vjernici su, nedvojbeno, bili svjesni političkoga značenja vjerske manifestacije bez manifestativnoga pokazivanja i izazivanja vlasti na drastične poteze. To nije spriječilo zagovaratelje jugoslavenskog integralizma da nastave s napadima na Euharistijski kongres i Katoličku crkvu općenito, o čemu se daju u ovome članku određeni pokazatelji.Two Eucharistic congresses deepened the awareness of the repressive bodies of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia. The first is the Eucharistic congress which was held in Chicago in 1926. The second one was organized by Archbishop Antun Bauer in Zagreb in 1930. The purpose of this reminiscence is not to examine the spiritual message of these eminently religious occasion, rather to recollect the political atmosphere in which they were held. The situation at the time for Croats and especially the Catholic clergy was, generally speaking, not enviable, it was substantially worsened by the introduction of the royal dictatorship in 1929. Many, for instance, ended up in court or suffered beatings from the gendarmes for such innocuous reasons as carrying the Croatian tricolored flag. Police surveillance of the people was increased, and Catholic clergy in particular found themselves being watched. While the congress in Chicago drew the attention of the state authorities due to their fear that the pilgrims from Croatia would be exposed to the negative influence of Croatian emigrants, the Eucharistic Congress in Zagreb in 1930 was characterized by police surveillance and harassment by gendarmes. This work is based on police reports about the preparations for the congress and the surveillance of certain priests and politicians. As revealled by the police reports, priests had been followed before. The Congress was nevertheless a peaceful manifestation of the Catholic faithful at which not the least political incident occurred. The faithful were certainly aware of the political implications of the religious congress without going so far as to provoke a drastic reaction from the authorities. This did not prevent the proponents of Yugoslav integralism from continuing their attacks on the Eucharistic Congress or the Catholic Church in general, of which their is some evidence