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P. 165
8.3 Case Study Event 2
into the altar of the parish church. The symbolic and religious signifi-
cance of this moment surpasses the purpose and objectives of this study.
The priest’s closing reflections should be highlighted as well. He thanked
everyone for their participation, especially the people from the Munici-
pality of Lanišće who also attended. As the priest was being transferred
to a different parish, the event was concluded with his farewell speech.
At the end of the religious ritual, the believers briefly socialised in the
shade by the entrance to the church, whereas many went home imme-
diately. A cameraman who was also present at the ritual recorded some
interviews at the bust next to the church. The atmosphere was calm and
tranquil. An unplanned and unannounced gathering of people took place
as well. A number of individuals gathered around a local man and lis-
tened to the story of the tragic events of 24 August 1947. He was working
on the reconstruction of the tragic event. Outside the church, he first ex-
plained the widespread social circumstances of that time in this part of
Istria and the events immediately before and during the solemn religious
event. People listened, stopped and moved in the exact direction in which
the then actors were moving. Secondly, he presented some facts in the
parson’s house where the homicide took place (see Figure 8.5). Four to
eight non-local visitors – some were coming, others were leaving – par-
ticipated in the guided tour, which included the visit of a simple casual
exhibition of the work and life of Bl. Bulešić as well.
The man’s interpretations were correct, even though he only once
(to put it simply) condemned the anti-fascists for the murder. Visi-
tors showed a lot of interest, commented on the events at that time,
asked about the beatification process and sincerely talked about their
prayers and requests to Bl. Bulešić. This led to a discussion on life several
years after the murder – the trial, the life of the killer, etc. – the non-
recognisability of Lanišće among potential visitors (pilgrims) in Croatia
and the plans for the development of the parson’s house.
The religious event, as well as the following ‘coincidental’ guided tours,
show that this tragic historical event is still present in the collective mem-
ory of the local community. The locals present their perception in public
in a fairly neutral way: they do not show emotions, they do not condemn
or blame, and do not respond in a hostile or similar way. They try to be
honest, even if they express some things the wrong way, i.e. the equation
between anti-fascists and communists, or when approaching the organ-
isation of activities (tour guiding) in a completely amateur way. In ad-
dition to these professional weaknesses, their non-tourist orientation is
165
into the altar of the parish church. The symbolic and religious signifi-
cance of this moment surpasses the purpose and objectives of this study.
The priest’s closing reflections should be highlighted as well. He thanked
everyone for their participation, especially the people from the Munici-
pality of Lanišće who also attended. As the priest was being transferred
to a different parish, the event was concluded with his farewell speech.
At the end of the religious ritual, the believers briefly socialised in the
shade by the entrance to the church, whereas many went home imme-
diately. A cameraman who was also present at the ritual recorded some
interviews at the bust next to the church. The atmosphere was calm and
tranquil. An unplanned and unannounced gathering of people took place
as well. A number of individuals gathered around a local man and lis-
tened to the story of the tragic events of 24 August 1947. He was working
on the reconstruction of the tragic event. Outside the church, he first ex-
plained the widespread social circumstances of that time in this part of
Istria and the events immediately before and during the solemn religious
event. People listened, stopped and moved in the exact direction in which
the then actors were moving. Secondly, he presented some facts in the
parson’s house where the homicide took place (see Figure 8.5). Four to
eight non-local visitors – some were coming, others were leaving – par-
ticipated in the guided tour, which included the visit of a simple casual
exhibition of the work and life of Bl. Bulešić as well.
The man’s interpretations were correct, even though he only once
(to put it simply) condemned the anti-fascists for the murder. Visi-
tors showed a lot of interest, commented on the events at that time,
asked about the beatification process and sincerely talked about their
prayers and requests to Bl. Bulešić. This led to a discussion on life several
years after the murder – the trial, the life of the killer, etc. – the non-
recognisability of Lanišće among potential visitors (pilgrims) in Croatia
and the plans for the development of the parson’s house.
The religious event, as well as the following ‘coincidental’ guided tours,
show that this tragic historical event is still present in the collective mem-
ory of the local community. The locals present their perception in public
in a fairly neutral way: they do not show emotions, they do not condemn
or blame, and do not respond in a hostile or similar way. They try to be
honest, even if they express some things the wrong way, i.e. the equation
between anti-fascists and communists, or when approaching the organ-
isation of activities (tour guiding) in a completely amateur way. In ad-
dition to these professional weaknesses, their non-tourist orientation is
165
