Early life and education Stadler was born in
Slavonski Brod in the
Habsburg monarchy (present-day
Croatia). His parents, Đuro and Marija (née Balošić) were
hatmakers. His father's ancestors were originally christened Jews from
Upper Austria. Early in life, Stadler lost both parents. He was taken care of by the Oršić family. He started his education in Slavonski Brod, and continued it, under the patronage of
cardinal Juraj Haulik, in
Požega and
Zagreb where he attended
Classical gymnasium. In
Rome he attended the
Pontifical Gregorian University where he attained a
doctorate in
philosophy and
theology.
Career Stadler was ordained a priest in Rome on June 6, 1868, after which he returned to
Zagreb where he worked as a professor at a
seminary and later a university professor at the Catholic Faculty of Theology of the
University of Zagreb.
Pope Leo XIII named Stadler as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna in
Sarajevo. Under his direction, the
Cathedral of Jesus' Heart was built, along with the seminary and church of
Sts. Cyril and Methodius. In
Travnik he helped build the
gymnasium and seminary, as well as many churches and women's seminaries throughout the country. Stadler founded the women's order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus with the intention of helping impoverished and abandoned children and others. He sent a plea to Vienna, to Franziska Lechner to send nuns to Sarajevo. With help of
Ivana Zorman, hedmistress of orphanage in
Trieste he formed the
orphanages
Betlehem and
Egipat for children and a home for the elderly. Stadler invited
Serbs to engage in a theological discussion and to consider the possibility of unifying the two churches, but his proposal was firmly rejected. ==Canonization and legacy==