[How Croatian Franciscan friars took care of their ill brethren in the 17th through the 19th century].

In inland Croatia, Franciscan friars had been scattered across three multi-national provinces - the Croatian and Carniolan province in the west, the province of St Ladislaus in the north, and the province of St John Capistrano in the east. The three provinces united into a single Croatian Franciscan province of St Cyrill and Methodius in 1900. As the monastery in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, was the number one in the province of St Ladislaus, it is quite likely that the way of living and the laws of this province influenced the other two inland provinces. The legislation in these two provinces was not as advanced as St Ladislaus' that was based on the so called Constitutiones Sambucanae, drawn up by Franciscan General Michele Buongiorno of Sambuca in 1663, which are best reflected in the four editions of St Ladislaus Province statutes (1687, 1749, 1768, and 1806). They provide a wealth of information about the Franciscan life and activities of that province. This article focuses on the provisions regulating the health care of the ill brethren. It also includes ample information from the monastery of Virovitica and from the archives of the Province of St John of Capistrano to give the reader an idea about Franciscan health care in these monasteries.