Ivan Merz

Ivan Merz (16 December 1896 − 10 May 1928) was a Catholic layman from Bosnia and important supporter of the Catholic Church in Croatia. Merz promoted the Liturgical Movement in Croatia and together with Ivo Protulipac, he established a movement for the young people, Hrvatski orlovski savez ("The Croatian Union of the Eagles"), inspired by the Eucharistic Crusade, which he had encountered in France. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

Life
Ivan Merz was born in Banja Luka, Bosnia, on 16 December 1896. Merz entered military service for Austro-Hungarian Army as a young adult, completed it after three months and began studying in Vienna in 1915. During the First World War he was drafted into the army and fought on the Italian front. After the World War, Merz devoted himself entirely to serving in the Roman Catholic Church and took a vow of chastity.

In October 1920, Merz went to Paris and studied at the Sorbonne and the Institut Catholique de Paris. In 1923 he received his doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb with a dissertation on the influence of liturgical language in the work of French writers, especially the Renouveau catholique.

Upon his return to Zagreb, he taught French and German at the Archdiocesan Classical Gymnasium. He started the "League of Young Croatian Catholics" and wrote numerous articles, essays and reflections for various magazines. Merz became one of the principal promoters of the liturgical renewal in his country.

He died in 1928; his remains are kept in Zagreb, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Merz was beatified on June 23, 2003, by Pope John Paul II during a visit to Banja Luka.

Canonisation process
Dave Ceasar Dela Cruz was chosen as the vice postulator of the cause for the canonization of Blessed Ivan Merz on 19 March 2008.

Patronages

 * Bl. Ivan Merz Parish in Slatina (established by Antun Škvorčević on 22 July 2003)
 * Bl. Ivan Merz Parish in Špansko-Oranice, Zagreb (est. 2011)
 * Catholic School Centre "Bl. Ivan Merz" in Banja Luka
 * Dr. Ivan Merz Elementary School in Zagreb (est. in 1901, named after Merz in 1 January 1995)
 * Domus Croatia Dr. Ivan Merz, an organization of Croatian pilgrims in Rome
 * Croatian Catholic Mission of the bl. Ivan Merz in Astoria, New York.
 * Humanitarian association Ivan Merz in Split (est. on 1 September 2006)

Memorials

 * Bronze relief in the Dr. Ivan Merz Elementary School in Zagreb, work by Ivan Starčević, uncovered on 1 January 1995.
 * Sculpture by Slaven Miličević in the Alley of Croatian Saints of the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish of Prečko (Zagreb), uncovered on 3 June 2007
 * Bl. Ivan Merz Street (Ulica bl. Ivana Merza) in Split

Popular culture

 * Documentary "Ivan Merz – život za ideale" by Jakov Sedlar, premiered on 8 May 2013 in Banja Luka.