Poljanska cesta 21000 Ljubljana

E-mail: rafaelova.družba@siol.net
Tel. No: +386 (0)1 438 30 50
Fax: +386 (0)1 438 30 55

Establishment and development of the Saint Rafael Society ( Rafaelova družba)

The Saint Rafael Society was established following the initiative of the Ljubljana Bishop Anton Bonaventura Jeglič. Since 1903, the Society was active in Ljubljana as the assisting committee of the Vienna Saint Rafael Society responsible for the Ljubljana diocese, but from 1907 on, as Slovene branch of the Austrian St. Rafael Society for the protection of emigrants. Together with the church, state institutions and charitable organizations, the Society helped emigrants to preserve their human dignity, religion and national identity and to find possibilities to realize their emigration goals. The Society was active by means of representatives who were present in Slovene parishes and bigger European port cities. Until 1913, other branches were established in Trieste, Gorizia and Maribor which were active until the beginning of the WWI, and were then formally dissolved in 1924. In 1908, the St. Rafael Society was formed in New York to pay additional attention and care to Slovene colonies.
On 16th October 1927, the independent St. Rafael Society was formed in Ljubljana. The Ljubljana Mayor, Jure Adlešič was named the first president of the Society and the year later his president function was taken by Kazimir Zakrajšek. Besides the Ljubljana branch, two more branches were formed in Maribor and Črešnovci.
In 1929, the St. Rafael Society started to publish the Emigrant Booklet (Izseljeniška knjižica); the same year was also the first year when the so called Emigrant's Rafael Sunday was organized. In 1935 and 1937, the Slovene Emigrant Congresses took place in Ljubljana and in 1937 also the Emigrant Chamber was organized.
In 1945, the Society was abolished and it was re-established in 1990. In 1995 it was named the Rafael Society and was registered on 4th of December 2002 as a civil organization which takes care of Slovenes around the world.

Rafael Society today

The Rafael Society is organized to help Slovene emigrants and workers abroad in preserving Slovene identity and Catholicism. The main aim of the society is to follow up and integrate Slovene countrymen around the world. The care that the Rafael Society provides is spread to the religious, national, cultural, educational and social fields and includes all activities that might help people.

The Rafael Society strives to inform and raise awareness on Slovene emigration in the homeland as well as promotes the necessary care for spiritual and material progress of emigrant communities; it links Slovenes from the homeland and the foreign lands; it organizes, gives assistance and promotes periodical and regular events of pastoral, cultural, educational and social nature; it provides studies and professional approach to the emigration issue and collects and documents the archival material; it is active in supervising the work and the duties of the state institutions in relation to Slovenes around the world; it enhances cooperation with other national and civil organization with the same aim of assisting the countrymen dispersed around the world; it also keeps strong ties with the Slovenes living in neighbouring countries.

The Rafael Society collects and organizes the archival material on the work and life of Slovene emigrants, it provides books, audio-video and other material to Slovenes abroad, it organizes exhibitions on the life of Slovenes in the post-war refugee camps in Carinthia, it publishes a photography monograph, organizes public debates, arranges visits, youth programmes and festivals of choirs and other cultural groups in the homeland, it renovates the Ehrlich House on the St. Višarje (also known as Monte Santo di Lussari, Luscharberg or Monte Luschari) which is used for cultural, spiritual and educational purposes. The Society organizes two annual traditional events: the Sunday of the Slovenes around the world and the event Where three Slovenias meet on Mount Sveti Višarji. In Slovenia, the Society wishes to create friendly environment for Slovenes around the world, in order to make the visits of emigrants in Slovenia more pleasant or in some cases, to influence their remigration. The Society cooperates with the Association of Slovene emigrant priests, deacons and other pastoral workers in Europe and other Slovene parishes and organizations around the world. It also cooperates with other national and civil organizations which take care of the Slovenes around the world.


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