Franc Hiti (1899–1975) – begunjski kaznilniški kurat in medvojni ter povojni dušni pastir
Franc Hiti (1899–1975) – Prison Chaplain in Begunje na Gorenjskem and parish priest during and after the World War II

slovenian

2026

volume 81, issue 1

Gestapo prisons   prison chaplain   women’s prison

Univerza v Ljubljani, Teološka fakulteta
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Rev. Father Franc Hiti served in Begunje na Gorenjskem for 37 years as a pris-on chaplain, parish administrator, and parish priest. Architect Jože Plečnik designed the Jožamurka pavilion for him, located above the manor garden. Before World War II, he devot-ed himself to providing spiritual care for female inmates at the Women’s Prison, collaborating with the Sisters of Mercy who ran the facility. After the outbreak of World War II, he was permitted to provide partial spiritual care to internees in Gestapo prisons, particularly hos-tages, until his dismissal on October 3th, 1942. The Ordinary of Gurk, Dr. Andreas Rohracher, then entrusted him, under the supervision of the Kranj priest Heinrich Beuke, the spiritual care of the neighboring parishes, which had been left without priests in May 1941. In 1945, he became the parish administrator of the Begunje na Gorenjskem Parish, and in 1967, its parish priest. In the postwar period, he faced restrictions in his pastoral work imposed on the Church by the communist authorities. Under their pressure, he joined the regime-controlled Cyril and Methodius Society of Priests in 1949, believing that this would facilitate his pastoral work in the parish, which he led conservatively until 1974

02.11.2026