Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
June 6, 2001
Priest, concentration camp survivor, dies at 94
Father Leopold Mihelich, retired pastor of Holy Rosary, Globeville
By Roxanne King
Retired priest of the Archdiocese of Denver, Father Leopold Mihelich, 94, died in his sleep May 24 in Maribor, Slovenia.
Father Mihelich had returned to his native country in 1992, 15 years after he retired as pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in Globeville. Newspaper clippings and his priestly assignments reveal a life that reads like a suspenseful World War II novel, complete with close calls with death.
Born to Martin and Antonia (Bracic) Mihelich Oct. 3, 1906, in Grajena, near Putj, Slovenia, Father Mihelich was ordained July 10, 1932, at Maribor by Bishop Andreas Karlin.
His first assignment was as assistant pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish in Slovenska Bistrica, where his primary duty was to teach theology at the high school. He also studied for a doctorate. In April 1941 Nazis invaded the town. The pastor escaped and Father Mihelich took over the parish. Ordered to preach in German, Father Mihelich refused because the people didn't speak it. For that, Father Mihelich was sent to a concentration camp in Maribor. A few months later, at the request of an archbishop, Father Mihelich and other priests were released.
After his release, Father Mihelich went to Belgrade where he taught at a college and helped care for more than 100,000 refugees. During that time, he survived several brushes with death, which included a bombing and a sniper attack. Another close call came while on the way to help nuns at a hospital — Father Mihelich missed boarding a ferry, which moments later hit a mine and exploded, killing 40 people.
In 1946 he delivered a letter to four parishes listing communist aggressions against the Church. Tipped off that he was going to be shot for treason for the action, Father Mihelich escaped to France. In 1950 he went to Wisconsin and served as assistant pastor at a German parish. Five years later, he arrived in Denver and was assigned to help serve the Slovenian-Croatian congregation at Holy Rosary as assistant pastor. In 1969 he was named pastor and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1977. In 1992 he returned to Slovenia to live with a niece.
Now retired, Father John Canjar served with Father Mihelich at Holy Rosary for 10 years.
"He was a very dedicated priest," Father Canjar said about his former assistant. "He was an outgoing man. He was very dedicated, pleasant and great to work with."
Father Mihelich loved to teach and did so daily at the now closed parish school, Father Canjar said. He also worked tirelessly to promote the faith.
"He tried to send catechetical and biblical materials to Slovenia, it was Yugoslavia at the time," Father Canjar said. "He always mentioned what a blessing it was to live in a free country where you could practice your religion without being under surveillance by the secret police. He always treasured living in a free society — he said we should treasure it because we don't know what it's like to live in an oppressive society."
Longtime friend and compatriot Silvan Birsa recalled helping Father Mihelich make catechetical materials to smuggle overseas. Well educated and fluent in several languages, the priest nevertheless remained an unassuming "farm boy," Birsa said, who could "speak to everyone," from the humblest to the mightiest.
"He was an educated man, God's man," Birsa said about the priest he helped care for after a stroke left him partially paralyzed in 1989. "He was very well appreciated (in Slovenia) and in Denver."
Birsa's wife, Joann, agreed.
"The main thing I admire about him is that he was a simple priest, a priest's priest," she said. "He was always there for anybody who needed him no matter what."
A funeral was held May 31 at Mary Mother of the Church in Maribor.
Memorial contributions can be sent to Holy Rosary, P.O. Box 8685, Denver, CO 80201 or to Mary Mother of the Church, c/o Rev. Stanislav Praznik, POBREZYE p.p.3, 2104 Maribor, Slovenia.
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