Celestin Tomić

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Fr. Celestin (Dinko Bruno) Tomić was a Croatian Franciscan Conventual and biblical scholar. He was born on October 6, 1917, on the island of Vis, the youngest of thirteen children in a family of manual workers. After meeting the Franciscan friars, he joined them and, at age 12, began studies at a Franciscan seminary in Ptuj, Slovenia. He later started his novitiate in Zagreb in 1934 and chose the religious name Celestin (Rajko). He studied at the Catholic Divinity College in Zagreb, took solemn vows in 1938, and was ordained a priest in Rome on December 19, 1942.

In Rome he continued his theology studies and earned a Doctor of Divinity in 1945. Although he had a personal interest in Eastern liturgy, he devoted himself to biblical studies. He returned to Croatia and taught Holy Scripture in Split from 1947 to 1953. In 1953 he moved to Zagreb to teach biblical languages and Scripture at the Catholic Divinity College, where he also served as vice-dean and dean at times. He later taught at the Jesuit Philosophical-Theological Institute in Zagreb (1970–1994) and regularly educated Carmelite and Sisters of Mercy novices.

Celestin played a major role in translating the Bible into Croatian. He edited and provided notes for the Old Testament, especially the Wisdom Books, and was the language editor for the Old Testament. He helped prepare the New Testament edition in 1973 and served as a biblical adviser for Croatian lectionaries used in liturgy. He also worked as a theological expert in the beatification process of Alojzije Stepinac, spending two years in Rome on the project.

Within the Franciscan Province of Zagreb, he held leadership roles, including definitor and vicar, and he was magister of seminarians for many years. He was a prolific writer, contributing to the Franciscan press and serving as a long-time correspondent for Veritas, a Catholic monthly. He published about fifty biblical works and numerous articles in Catholic and scientific magazines.

In 1997, his 80th birthday was celebrated with a collection of papers titled Spe gaudentes (Joyful in Hope). He published his first book based on his Rome doctorate in 1954 and left many unpublished manuscripts, including a substantial work on Blessed Alojzije Stepinac. Fr. Celestin Tomić passed away on September 23, 2006, in Zagreb.