WWII horrors shaped Fr. Perkovic’s priesthood

Father Anton Perkovic, a priest whose struggles with the Nazis and the communists during WWII in Yugoslavia mirrored the challenges of St. John Paul II, was “a man of the church” who dedicated his priestly life to serving others, Father William O’Donnell said at Father Perkovic’s funeral Mass July 26 at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Mandeville.
Father Perkovic, 92, died July 23 Forest Manor Nursing Home in Covington. He had served as a priest for nearly 68 years, having been ordained in 1946 after attending an underground seminary. Father Perkovic was the founding pastor of St. Martha in Harvey in 1973.

Father Perkovic entered the minor seminary in present-day Croatia and studied there until civil war broke out. He was forced to continue his seminary studies under the direction of Father Miroslav Pules, who later was executed by the communists. Father Pules was beatified on Sept. 26, 2013.

One of Father Perkovic’s brothers also was killed in the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, Father O’Donnell said.

After ordination in 1946, Father Perkovic was singled out by the communist authorities, who viewed the Catholic Church as an enemy of the state, Father O’Donnell said. Young priests were particularly targeted.

“Somebody told him if he didn’t get out, they were going to shoot him,” Father O’Donnell said.

Fled his home country
Father Perkovic fled to Rome, waiting three years for an opening at the Pontifical Gregorian University to study dogmatic theology. After receiving his licentiate in sacred theology, Father Perkovic heard that Archbishop Joseph Rummel was accepting refugee priests for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

He arrived in New Orleans on Jan. 12, 1952, not knowing a word of English.

“He could speak four languages, but he didn’t know English,” Father O’Donnell said. “He hired a tutor. But every time he had something theological to say, he would start explaining things in Latin. At that time, all the liturgy was in Latin and he’d do all the sacraments in Latin. But he learned English very well, and he was really annoyed later on in life if anybody mentioned he had an accent.”

Father Perkovic was assigned as an assistant at Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Catherine of Siena and Our Lady Star of the Sea parishes. He served as pastor of St. Anselm in Madisonville and Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Westwego before becoming the founding pastor of St. Martha.

He retired as St. Martha pastor in 1994 after serving for 21 years.

Father O’Donnell became close with Father Perkovic when the two both served in the Westbank Deanery for about 10 years.

“Anton was a very shy, retiring man,” Father O’Donnell said. “He did not like to speak of his experiences during the war. I had to pull it out of him. He was a man from a different place and a different time. He was a man of the written word, and he was especially a man of the church. Everything revolved around his priesthood. Even in Forest Manor, if he possibly could manage it, he ate lunch with his Roman collar on.”

In addition to his parish assignments, Father Perkovic was an advocate and defender of the bond with the Metropolitan Tribunal, secretary to the Cathedral Deanery and spiritual moderator with the St. Tammany-Washington Deanery Council of Catholic Women.

Father Perkovic was buried at St. Joseph Abbey Cemetery in Covington.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected]