About us

Just as the eyes are the window into the human soul, the Croatian Ethnic Institute in Chicago is also the window into the soul of Croatian emigrants. Since 1975, the mission of this central institution of Croatians in North America has been the same: to preserve the memory of past times and to be a source of inspiration for the future. When you look into the soul of Croatian emigrants, you will find many simple stories. Each reflects uniquely the dreams and sufferings, pains and hopes, successes and disappointments of our people who – searching for a better, more peaceful, and more prosperous – traveled to another part of the world.

Some found their place on the sunny shores of California. Others gave their youth to Ontario’s mines or Pennsylvania’s steel mills. Many went to distant Australia and New Zealand and entrusted their dreams to South America. Each of these stories contains an authentic expression of what the emigrant was: torn from his homeland, like an oak tree without roots, carried by the waves from one side to another, yet firmly rooted by stony genes in the nation from which he sprung, a people that neither time, nor history, nor swords, nor suffering has ever destroyed.

Such people created communities. From the very beginnings of the Croatian community, there were lively places where identity was nurtured, and the Croatian name was loved. The communities then created societies, societies created activities, activities created programs, and the programs brought everything back to the beginning – to establishing one’s own identity.

Church, culture, education, publishing, politics, and social involvement were determinants of the Croatian people in the diaspora. The emigrants did all this, always bravely flying the banners of faith and freedom. Such a history could only lead to the realization of dreams for the liberty of the oppressed people.

The Croatian Ethnic Institute proudly preserves the memory of this history, a memory told through the stories of individuals, organizations, and societies in the Croatian diaspora. Located in Chicago, in the monastery of Croatian Franciscans who pastorally cared for Croatians in North America for more than a century, the Institute was and remains a place of encounter, thanksgiving, prayer, and memory In the middle of the American continent, there is a small Croatian oasis, a sanctuary of our nation in which the homeland is loved with all the depth of feeling. This feeling motivates us to collect, organize and preserve the material that means life to everyone who dreams of tomorrow under the lovely tricolor of the Croatian flag.

Our journey has lasted almost five decades, our past is full of fulfilled hopes, and our only wish for the future is to remain a place where the Croatian homeland and its people are loved, respected, and protected from ignorance.