Fr. Mladen Pejić, a member of the Province of St. Jerome in Croatia and of the Convent of St. Francis in Krk, died in his convent on July 24, 2022 at the age of 54, after 31 years of religious life and 27 years of priesthood.
He was born on May 18, 1969 in Matići (parish of Tolisa, Bosnia and Herzegovina) into a large Catholic family from father Mato and mother Mara, nee Mišković. After elementary school in his native town, he entered the minor seminary of the Province at the Convent of St. Francis Xavier in Zagreb. He completed the Archdiocesan Classical High School in Zagreb. He made his temporary vows on August 30, 1991 and his solemn vows on October 4, 1995. He graduated from the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb and was ordained a priest on June 29, 1996, also in Zagreb.
He was pastoral assistant in Belišće for two years (1996 – 1997 and 2001 – 2002), provincial secretary and assistant to the master of the professed (1997 – 1999), religion teacher at the Archdiocesan Classical Lyceum in Zagreb, catechist and pastoral assistant in the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Zagreb and, in the same period, chaplain in the retirement home in Zagreb (1999 – 2001) and parochial vicar in the Parish of St. John the Baptist in Zadar (2002 – 2005) and in the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Zagreb ( 2005 – 2009). In recent years he has lived and worked in convents on the island of Krk: in the Convent of St. Francis in Krk (2009 – 2013), in the Convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Porat (2013 – 2019) and again in Krk from 2019 until his death.
His funeral was celebrated on July 28 on the island of Krk, in the city of Krk and in Glavotok. The funeral Mass was presided over by the Bishop of Krk, Ivica Petanjak, and concelebrated by the Minister Provincial, Fr. Ivo Martinović, by the local minister, Fr. Petar Grubišić, with twenty-four friars of the Province and about fifteen other priests. Together with the brothers and sisters of Fr. Mladen, their families, relatives and friends, were also present religious and faithful from the city of Krk.
At the end of the Eucharist, Fr. Ivo Martinović, Provincial Minister, presented the figure and life of Fr. Mladen. He was a simple and humble friar and priest. From his parents and in his family, he received the foundations of Christian faith and prayer, goodness and sensitivity to the community. His goodness “was always spontaneous, sincere, simple and discreet”. “His heart was not only permeated with goodness but also with the search for God.” This was seen above all in his religious teaching and in his homilies, in which he wanted to pass on to the faithful the fruits of his search for God. He loved sport and often approached young people through it.
After the Eucharist, the Bishop conducted the rite of last recommendation and farewell and the Minister Provincial conducted the burial. Fr. Mladen was buried in the tomb of the convent of St. Mary in Glavotok, in the cemetery next to the convent.