Josip Buonaldo

Who is Josip Buonaldo?

Josip Buonaldo served as an Archbishop of Antivari in the mid-17th century. He belonged to the Dominican Order

Originally from Zadar, Buonaldo served a theological professor in the Basilica of Santa Maria above Minerva in Rome.

Pope Innocent X appointed Buonaldo as the Archbishop of Antivari in 1646 with an annual income of 200 Roman scudi.

With the bishops from Turkish-controlled lands, Buonaldo forged plans for freedom, presenting them to the Venetian admiral, Leonardo Foscolo. When Foscolo captured Klis in 1648, in his company was Buonaldo. The following year, Foscolo turned to southern Montenegro, unloading his guns near Antivari. However, the Turkish army was awaiting his arrival to which Foscolo retreated. By then, a pogrom among Antivari's Catholic population occurred, in which a large number of Catholics converted to Islam.

Buonaldo lived in the region of Paštrovići, where he converted many Muslims to Catholicism.

Buonaldo died from tuberculosis in 1653. He was buried in a cathedral in Budva. Upon his death, the administration of the Archbishopric was placed in the hands of Pjetër Bogdani, the Bishop of Scutari.