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In July of 1998 came the news from Rome that the process for beatification of Anton Martin Slomšek, Bishop of Maribor who died in 1862, has been carried out successfully. In mid September of 1999, the Pope himself visited Slovenia and proclaimed the Bishop "Blessed" *.
Slovenia has been expecting the proclamation by Vatican of the "first Slovenian" Blessed or Saint for several decades. From the historical point of view, however, Bishop Slomšek will merely be the "first Slovenian" Blessed -- by Rome. We know of several bona fide Saints during the period of the medieval Slovenian state Carantania -- and before 1171 when the proclamations of saints became the exclusive competence of Rome.
Soon after the Christianization of Carantania was completed, around the middle of the eighth century, some saints were proclaimed and venerated by Oswald, the Bishop of Gospa Sveta, now Maria Saal in Carinthia, Austria.
Saint Modestus, the Bishop of Gospa Sveta attained sainthood by carrying out Christianizion of Slovenians in Carantania with some help of his Irish monks. He is buried in the Gospa Sveta cathedral. After his death in 767, the pagan opposition rebelled, banished all foreign missionaries from the country and restored their pagan regime. But not for long; in 772, the Bavarian duke Tassilo III invaded Carantania with his troops and installed a native Christian ruler, Domitian, to power.
The invasion of a foreign force spreading Christian faith created a distrust among the people of Carantania. Domitian, the new Christian duke of Carantania provided a valid example for the people to follow and consolidated the faith. For his services, he was proclaimed a saint. Saint Domitian died around 802 and is buried in the ancient Benedictine abbey in Millstatt, Carinthia.
Another saint worth noting is also Saint Gorazd, (who died after 887) from Pannonia. He was a pupil, and nominated successor of Saint Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia. After Gorazd's death his pupils were banished from the country for their opposition to the association with Bavarians. Some of them found asylum in Macedonia and together with Gorazd are venerated there as saints until today.
During the same period, two Carantania's noble ladies distinguished themselves for a great charity. Saint Hildegarde, (d. 895) from Kamen (now Stein) in Carinthia, was the mother of Saint Albuin, the bishop and patron of Brixen in Tirol. She created a foundation for the poor which lasted for over one thousand years until the time after the First World War.
The second lady, Saint Hemma, (d. 1043) of Gurk (Krka) in Carinthia, was renown for her compassion. When she became a widow and also lost both of her sons, she applied her great wealth to founding of new parishes and monasteries.
These Saints were worshipped by the citizens of Carantania for centuries. From this country also descended an important Pope, the well-known Gregorius V (d. 999). The German chronologer Helmold in his Chronica Slavorum describes the Carantanians of those times as: Karinthi … homines divino cultui dediti, nec est ulla gens honestior et in cultu Dei et sacerdotum veneratione devotior.
In the Carantanian territory, the religious tradition of the ancient Roman Aquileia was also alive through the veneration of its martyrs. Among them, Saint Cantianus, (d. 303) together with his brother Cantius and sister Cantianilla must be mentioned. Today, no less than 40 churches in Slovenia are dedicated to them.
In the 19th century a new Christian epoch began in Slovenia: Bishop Frederic Baraga (d. 1868) became a missionary among the Indians of North America. The apostolic pro-vicar Ignacij Knoblehar (d 1858) was the missionary in Sudan, a predecessor of Daniele Comboni. The Bishop of Ljubljana and then Archbishop of Gorizia, cardinal Jakob Missia (d. 1902) brought a new impetus to Slovenian Catholicism. Then there was also Janez Gnidovec (d. 1939), the Bishop of Skopje who dedicated his energies to the Catholics in Macedonia.
The communist revolution during the second World War caused numerous victims among the catholic population in Slovenia. Among them was also Lojze Grozde (d. 1943), a, deeply faithful 19 years-old high school student. He lost his life in a cruel martyrdom. For him, a process to proclaim him blessed is in on course.
As Saint Francis does not belong only to Italians, the above saints certainly do not belong exclusively to Slovenia. Saint Modestus, apostle of Carantanians was Irish. The Bishop Baraga would be, after his proclamation, an American rather than a Slovenian. Who should claim Jesuit Padre Antonius Kappus, born in the heart of Slovenia, who in the 17th century went to Mexico as an Austrian emissary and worked diligently among Indians in Sonora desert?
All Saints belong to the Christian community and not to some political entity. Therefore, the designation of the "first Slovenian Saint" exposes the megalomania of the current political leaders, many of them former Communists, who want to establish their legacy on the backs of the Christian religion which their devoted Party tried its damnedest to erase from the surface of the Earth.