Dr. Vasile Lucaciu, preot greco-catolic în Șișești
Dr. Vasile Lucaciu, Greek Catholic Priest in Şișești

Summary/Abstract: Having returned to the pulpit from his high school chair, in the Romanian commune of Șișești, Priest Vasile Lucaciu took care of the fate of his parishioners from the very beginning. Unfortunately, a good part of his energy was dissipated in the struggle with authorities, this time including ecclesiastical ones. He managed to start and complete, in a very short time, a monumental construction, the Church of the Holy Union of All Romanians. As Lucaciu was under disciplinary investigation, including for the funds with which he built the church, during the consecration of the new place of worship on August 15/27, 1891, neither Bishop Ioan Szabó nor even a canon from Gherla Diocese attended. Accused of engaging in politics to the detriment of the church and traveling without the bishop’s knowledge, Lucaciu was suspended from his position as parish priest in September 1892. The entire Romanian public opinion sided with the “Lion of Șișești,” who had to seek justice all the way to the Vatican. Following his conflict with the Hungarian authorities in Satu Mare, and the battles with Bishop Szabó, with a strong political undertone, Dr. Vasile Lucaciu became one of the most well-known and appreciated fighters for the cause of the Transylvanian Romanians in Transylvania and Hungary. Shortly after his suspension from the priesthood, he was judged in the trial in Debrecen and arrested in the winter of 1892 in Szeged.

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