ABSTRACT
The Order of St. Augustine (Ordo Eremitarum Sancti Augustini) was the first religious community in Rijeka. The monastery of St. Jerome, founded by the noble families of Devin and Walsee, existed from the 14th century till 1788, when it was dissolved by Joseph II. Unfortunately, the past of the Augustine Monastery of St. Jerome is mostly unknown. On the basis of largely unexplored sources in Croatia and overseas, the author reveals several facts about the relation between Rijeka's Augustinian community and medicine. The paper includes an important piece of information concerning the existence of a hospital on the lo-cation of Andrejscica in Rijeka, founded in the 15th century, which has so far been unknown. Augustinian's sources (16th and 18th century) show the presence of several shaver-surgeon (barbitonsorius) and other various relevant topics for the history of medicine in Rijeka - pharmacopola, aromatarius etc.
Subject(s)
Catholicism/history , Hospitals, Religious/history , Monks/history , Barber Surgeons/history , Croatia , History, 15th Century , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , HumansABSTRACT
The first part of the article looks into the contribution of Christianity to health care in the Middle Ages. In those times, monasteries used to take care of the sick, pilgrims, and travellers. The second part brings interesting information about health care institutions from the church history of Rijeka. Local circumstances favoured setting up an infirmary in St Sebastian's street. Adjacent to the Church of the Assumption was the asylum of the Holy Spirit; the name had remained with the town hospital of Rijeka until 1945. Four fraternities played a major role in local health care: St Mary's, St Michael's, St Vitus', and St John's. Their members helped each other and took care of the weak and the sick. The lazarets of Rijeka, one in Mandrac and the other in Martinscica, had their own chapels and organised pastoral care. The first bishop of Rijeka, Isidoro Sain, established the Vicariate of St Joseph in the town hospital on 1 January 1928. Health care in Rijeka had strong ties with the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived in the town in 1858 and have been working in a variety of healthcare institutions to this day.
