Petar Čule

Petar Čule (18 February 1898 – 29 July 1985) was a Herzegovinian Croat prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and of apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1942 until his retirement in 1980. After his retirement, he was named titular archbishop of Giufi in present-day Tunisia. Serving as bishop during World War II, Čule was an opponent of the Ustaše regime in the Independent State of Croatia, helping to save the persecuted Serbs and political dissidents. Imprisoned under false accusations by the communists in 1948 and released only in 1955, he was also a political victim of communist political persecution.

Čule, a sickly child from a well-to-do family, was born in the village of Kruševo near Mostar. A notable student from an early age, after finishing elementary education in Ljuti Dolac near Široki Brijeg, he enrolled at the Jesuit gymnasium in Travnik. Determined to become a priest, Čule entered the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo and was ordained a priest in 1920. He went for further studies at the Catholic University of Leuven and Collegium Canisianum in Innsbruck, where he earned a doctorate in theology in 1923. As a priest, he led the HKD Napredak, a cultural society in Mostar, published two books and several articles and translated Thomas J. Campbell's book on the history of Jesuits. He was also in charge of the education of the secular clergy in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, which at the time was insignificant in numbers compared to the dominant Franciscans. Under his leadership, the number of secular priests grew significantly. The Franciscans, who by the papal Decisia of 1899 had lost the care of over half of the parishes but still made up the vast majority of the clergy, wanted to preserve the dominance of their Province. They managed to influence Mišić not to raise the secular clergy to remain in small numbers. Finally, in 1923, with mediation from Mišić, they managed to get a rescript from the Holy See that, although temporarily, returned most of the parishes to their care. The Franciscans sought to ignore this temporality and cement the rescript as permanent. Working as a diocesan archivist, Čule discovered these attempts in 1937 but was assured by Mišić's secretary that the rumours were false.

In 1942, after Mišić's death, Čule was appointed bishop, with significant opposition from the Franciscans and the fascist Ustaše government of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The Franciscans gained protection from the Ustaše government. However, this didn't dissuade Čule from seeking Rome's intervention in the dispute regarding the division of the parishes, raising the question again in 1943. During the war, Čule helped to save Serbs, Jews, and political dissidents from the Ustaše persecution. After the war, however, he was imprisoned by the new communist authorities under false accusations of helping the collaborators and spreading anti-communist propaganda. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. While imprisoned, his health declined considerably. Later, he petitioned the Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito to be released, pleading his innocence. The petition was approved, and he was released in 1955. He assumed the administration of his dioceses again in 1958. Čule also participated in the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965, where he initiated the inclusion of St. Joseph in the canon of the Roman Mass. The issue of the division of parishes was again raised. It resulted in Romanis Pontificibus, a 1975 papal decree, by which half of the parishes would belong to the secular clergy, while another half would be under the Franciscan administration. The decree was met with fierce opposition from the Franciscans, which resulted in violence in a few parishes. The success of the implementation of the new decree was thus limited. In 1980, Čule oversaw the completion of the Mostar cathedral. He retired in 1980, and due to his contribution to the local church, Pope John Paul II named him the titular archbishop of Giufi.