He went to help a wounded man and never returned: Father Rafo’s watch stopped at 17:27

"Make me always sincerely wish to be unknown and to be held for nothing!", stands in the notebook of Father Rafo’s spiritual writings found in the archive of the Franciscan Monastery in Makarska.

Gathering materials across the monasteries of the Province of the Most Holy Redeemer, Father Petar Bezina decided to disregard his instruction and present his spiritual notes to the public. "A saint and martyr of God", many said of Father Rafo Kalinić, a Croatian priest and Franciscan born in Prugovo near Klis.

He was simple, unnoticeable, virtuous, and patient, spending a lot of time in prayer. Father Ante Antić, Father Rafo's master at the seminary in Makarska, also confirmed his virtuous religious life. Later, while serving as a teacher at the Franciscan Classical Grammar School in Sinj, Father Rafo would spend hours hearing confessions, even though it was not his main duty.

Following the capitulation of Italy, the German army quickly launched operations to capture areas in Dalmatia. In September 1943, the infamous Nazi SS Division "Prinz Eugen" arrived in Sinj.

From the bell tower of the Church of Our Lady of Sinj, one could see the light of destructive explosions and flames swallowing nearby villages under German bombardment. On the morning of September 24, 1943, local women from the village of Brnaze knocked on the monastery door and requested the anointing of the sick for a severely wounded Partisan, Stjepan Čarić.

At Father Rafo's request, the Guardian reluctantly allowed him to leave, feeling that he was sending him into peril. However, Father Rafo, dressed in his religious habit and carrying holy oil and holy communion in his bag, headed straight to the Čarić family and managed to stay for about an hour by the side of the dying man.

On his way back to Sinj, near the Malbaša houses, he was suddenly stopped by a German non-commissioned officer, who demanded his pass and ordered him to empty all his pockets. Snatching the holy items for the anointing from his hands, the officer threw them to the ground and trampled them. There are different versions of what exactly happened next.

According to one version, Father Rafo was thrown alive into a burning house, while according to another, he was first killed, then thrown into the ground floor of the house and set on fire.

The time of his death, at 17:27 on that Friday, remained recorded on his pocket watch, which the Guardian found alongside his remains on the ashes a few days later. Father Rafo's notes from that period look like his spiritual testament today: Perfection lies in love. With God, we are the moon and the stars, and without Him - darkness.

Source: HRT