Josip Mihalović

In 1868, Mihalović was nominated as the titular bishop of Duvno by Emperor Franz Joseph.[8] On 4 May 1870, he was appointed as the archbishop of Zagreb, and on 17 July he received episcopal ordination in Vienna. The consecrator was Archbishop Mariano Falcinelli Antoniacci, the titular bishop of Athens. Mihalović was enthroned in Zagreb on 6 August 1870. He was appointed as the archbishop at the time when the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement, a pact signed in 1868, that governed Croatia's political status in the Hungarian-ruled part of Austria-Hungary, was fiercely contested by the Croatian opposition parties, and so, Mihalović was, as a supporter of the ruling Unionist Party, harshly criticised by the Croatian opposition. Ignjat Brlić, one of the fiercest critics of his appointment, described Mihalović's appointment as a breach of the Settlement because the title of the archbishop was given to a foreigner.

On 22 June 1877 Pope Pius IX appointed him to the position of the cardinal-priest at San Pancrazio fuori le mura. He received the cardinal's hat in Rome in St Peter's Basilica on 25 June 1877. Mihalović participated in the 1878 conclave in which Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci was elected Pope. Emperor Franz Joseph wanted Mihalović to become Archbishop of Zagreb, but Mihalović at first hesitated because of the complex political situation in Croatia at the time, so he decided to resign and seek a transfer to one of the Hungarian dioceses. However, Emperor and church leaders managed to make him change his mind and he eventually stayed.

Before the 1881 Croatian parliamentary election, Mihalović opposed the election of the clergy to the Parliament of Croatia, this was especially directed against the clergy involved with the opposition. Also, Mihalović, at the request of a Hungarian episcopate to secede Međimurje to them, allowed preaching in the Hungarian language in Čakovec. Nevertheless, Mihalović stood for the Croatian interests as well, when he supported the annexation of the Military Frontier (1881) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878) by Croatia.

Bishops Mihalović, Haulik and Strossmayer have been very active in promoting church, social, cultural and political life. Mihalović was mostly oriented to church life, especially to the education of young seminarians. In 1878, he initiated the establishment of a male seminary and gymnasium in Zagreb. In addition, he gave financial support for four canons for the students in the seminary. Mihalović appointed Juraj Posilović to the position of editor of the Zagreb Catholic paper (ZKL; 1872–1875). In 1874, Posilović became a regular lecturer at the Theological Faculty of the University of Franz Joseph I. He remained a lecturer until his appointment as Bishop of Senj-Modruš. During this period, ZKL published several professional discussions on the occasion of the First Vatican Council including the famous constitution Eternal Shepherd (Vječni pastir, i. e. Pastor Aeternus), which contains the definition of papal infallibility. Liberals accused Jesuits of being the constitution's real authors, which resulted in many priests, bishops and ZKL having to protect them. ZKL also reported that bishop Strossmayer (active member of the liberal People's Party) published parliamentary regulations in his journal, thus accepting them.[9]

Mihailović died on 19 February 1891 in Zagreb at the age of 77. He was buried in the cathedral. Liberal magazine Obzor, which he often defied during his lifetime, paid him tribute by publishing an article which stated in part: "[Josip Mihalović] failed to justify fears of the [Croatian] people, ...For him, the realm of gentleness and justice were not empty words.[6]

In 1886, the 50th anniversary of Mihalović's first Mass was celebrated throughout the Archdiocese of Zagreb. It became clear that "he managed to get full sympathy of the incredulous Croatian people with his meekness and wisdom."[11]