Blessed Augustin Kažotić

Augustin Kažotić (Italian: Agostino Casotti, Hungarian: Kazotics Ágoston; 1260 – 3 August 1323) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church and professed member from the Order of Preachers who served as the Bishop of Lucera from 1322 until his death. Kažotić was a humanist and orator who had served first as the Bishop of Zagreb from 1303 until 1322. Kažotić studied in Paris before returning to his homeland where he began working in the missions and preaching in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was one of the first humanist figures to appear in southern Croatia. His reputation for personal holiness remained noted long after his death; this resulted in Pope Innocent XII confirming Kažotić's beatification in 1700. Augustin Kažotić was born in 1260 in Trogir in the then-Kingdom of Dalmatia-Croatia to nobles. He entered the Order of Preachers either in Trogir or in neighbouring Split in 1289 after the conclusion of his education. He completed his studies in 1287 in Paris at the college there where he was sent in 1286. Following his return from Paris he began establishing several convents and then did work in the missions in modern Bosnia and in the Hungarian kingdom. He battled against heresies during this time and got to know the papal legate Nicola Boccasini who later became pope. The two became good friends with Boccasini holding his friend in high esteem as a man of great learning and talent. Pope Benedict XI - himself a Dominican - named him as the Bishop of Zagreb (through a papal bull) in 1303 at which stage he received his episcopal consecration from the pope himself. The bishop established a cathedral school which provided free schooling to underprivileged students. The bishop also fostered learning in biblical studies as a particular focus for education.