Monsignor Ferdinand Vražić Passes Away
Karlovac bids farewell to the priest who led the Parish of St. Francis Xavier for 50 years. He passed away at the age of 90, in the 64th year of his priesthood.
Karlovac bids farewell to the priest who led the Parish of St. Francis Xavier for 50 years. He passed away at the age of 90, in the 64th year of his priesthood.
Monsignor Ferdinand Vražić, a priest of the Archdiocese of Zagreb whose name became synonymous with dedication and kindness in Karlovac, passed away on Saturday, August 8, 2026. The news of his death at the age of 90, in the 64th year of his priesthood, was confirmed by the Archdiocese of Zagreb, as reported by Kaportal. The faithful and citizens remember him as a man who led the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Švarča for a full half-century.
He was born on September 16, 1936, in the village of Brezna Gora, the seventh of nine children in the family of Viktor and Ana (née Auguštin), with two brothers dying shortly after birth. He was baptized the very next day, September 17, in his native Parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Prišlin, where he later also received the sacrament of Confirmation. After completing four grades of elementary school in Prišlin, he privately finished four grades of the real gymnasium in Taborsko and Krapina, and passed the small matriculation exam in Krapina.
He continued his education at the Boys' Seminary in Zagreb on Šalata, graduating in 1958 after completing his mandatory military service from 1956 to 1958. That same year, he enrolled in theology at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb.
He was ordained a deacon on March 30, 1963, in Zagreb Cathedral by Auxiliary Bishop Josip Lach. He received the priesthood a few months later, on June 29, 1963, from Archbishop Franjo Šeper. He celebrated his first Mass on July 7, 1963, in Prišlin, where he had been baptized.
He began his ministry as temporary administrator of the Parish in Netretićko Završje, where he spent two months, and then served as parish vicar in Lipnik for six months. After that, he returned to Netretićko Završje for five months, as reported by Trend Karlovac.
A turning point in his life came on July 26, 1965, when he was appointed the first administrator of the newly established Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Karlovac's Švarča district. He served as parish priest for a full 50 years, until his retirement on August 26, 2015. During that period, he prepared and oversaw the founding of the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Novi Centar, which was carved out of existing parishes, and served as its temporary administrator for four years.
His dedication was recognized at higher levels of the Church as well. He served three terms as dean of the Karlovac Deanery, was a member of the Preparatory Commission for the Second Synod of the Archdiocese of Zagreb, the Presbyteral Council, and the Administrative Council of the St. Joseph Priests' Home. For a full 20 years, from 2004 to 2024, he also served as spiritual director of the Karlovac branch of the Croatian Catholic Medical Association.
Pope Benedict XVI bestowed upon him the title of Monsignor on March 8, 2010. Nine years later, on July 12, 2019, the City Council of Karlovac awarded him the Plaque of the City of Karlovac on the occasion of the city's 440th anniversary, for his dedicated work and contribution to its betterment.
Although he retired in 2015, he continued to reside and provide pastoral assistance in the Parish of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Novi Centar for another ten years. He celebrated the 60th anniversary of his priesthood on July 9, 2023, and formally bid farewell to the people of Karlovac on November 24, 2024. He spent his final months at the St. Joseph Priests' Home on Kaptol in Zagreb, and from March 17, 2025, he served as a confessor in the Blessed Aloysius Stepinac Worship Space.
The date and time of the funeral rites and requiem Mass will be announced later, the Archdiocese of Zagreb has stated.
