Ante Antić

Despite his delicate health, he was admitted to the Franciscan seminary in Sinj on August 5, 1905. He entered the novitiate on September 17, 1911, on the islet of Visovac, receiving the habit and the name "fra Ante." On September 17, 1912, he made his first simple vows and added the name "Marija" out of devotion to the Virgin Mary. After studying philosophy in Zaostrog (1912-1914) and theology in Makarska (1914-1918), he made his solemn profession on November 1, 1915, in Makarska. He was ordained a priest on July 29, 1917, in the Church of Saint Lawrence in Šibenik by Bishop Luka Pappafava, and celebrated his first mass in Zaton on August 5, 1917. Immediately after his ordination, his superiors in the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Redeemer entrusted him with the delicate task of forming young clerics. He thus served as sub-master of clerics in Makarska (1917-1919), master of novices in Zaostrog (1919-1920), and then master of clerics in Makarska from 1925 to 1946. In 1946, he was transferred to Zagreb, where he continued this mission as an educator until 1956. From 1956 until his death, he resided at the monastery of Our Lady of Lourdes in Zagreb, dedicating himself fully to the ministry of confession and spiritual direction. Endowed with a profound mystical life and extraordinary charisms, notably the gift of reading consciences and prophecy, he became the sought-after spiritual advisor to thousands of people: bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful of all conditions. His reputation for holiness and fatherly kindness earned him the affectionate nickname "Good Father Antić." A tradition even reports that Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, upon receiving Croatian pilgrims in San Giovanni Rotondo, told them: "Why do you come to me? You have a Franciscan confessor, Father Ante, in Zagreb!"

Father Ante Antić passed away on March 4, 1965, at the Monastery of Our Lady of Lourdes in Zagreb, surrounded by an immense reputation for holiness. His funeral, celebrated on March 8, 1965, at the Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb, was presided over by the Auxiliary Bishop of Zagreb, Msgr. Franjo Kuharić (future cardinal), in the presence of two other bishops, numerous priests, and a considerable crowd of the faithful. On December 15, 1970, his mortal remains were exhumed from the Mirogoj Cemetery to be transferred to the crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Zagreb. During this exhumation, witnesses noted that his body had remained perfectly intact and preserved from corruption, despite the decay of the wooden coffin due to humidity. The cause for beatification was officially opened at the diocesan level in Zagreb on November 17, 1984, by Cardinal Franjo Kuharić. The diocesan inquiry was successfully closed in 1995, and the file was transmitted to Rome to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

On May 5, 2015, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession is required. An investigation into an unexplained healing that occurred in Zagreb had been conducted and transmitted to Rome in 2000, but the medical board of the Congregation did not validate it, deeming that the healing could be explained in a spontaneous manner. The cause is therefore currently awaiting the recognition of an official miracle.

The spirituality of the Venerable Ante Antić was deeply rooted in the Franciscan charism, characterized by absolute humility, joyful poverty, and perfect obedience. His life of prayer was centered on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Eucharist, and the Passion of Christ, as well as a tender Marian devotion. His life motto was "My God and my All" (Bog moj i sve moje). He left an important spiritual legacy through his correspondence, counting more than 4,000 letters of spiritual direction collected by the vice-postulation, several collections of which have been published (such as Pisma svećeniku or Svećenik sam Kristov). Even today, his tomb located in the crypt of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Zagreb is a frequently visited place of pilgrimage. Every year, the anniversary of his death, March 4, is celebrated solemnly under the name of "Antićevo" in Croatia.