The memorial room (also in the Cultural Centre) and the bust of Dr. Fran Kovačič, erected by the people of Veržej on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great native (in 1967).
He attended high school in Varaždin and Zagreb, theology in Zagreb and Maribor. He was ordained a priest in 1894 at St. George in Slovenske gorice. He served from August to the end of 1894 as a chaplain and until May 11, 1895 as a provisor in Spodnja Polskava, then until autumn as a provisor in Studenice. From the fall of 1895 to June 1897, he studied philosophy in Rome, where he graduated and received his doctorate at the Dominican University of St. Maria supra Minervam. Then he was an auxiliary priest in Studenice. On October 1, 1897, he was employed as a full-time professor of philosophy and fundamental theology at the Maribor Theological Seminary .
In addition to philosophical and theological work, he devoted himself to the study of history; in this function, he participated as an expert on the ethnic border as part of the Yugoslav diplomatic delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
Between 1897 and 1909, he was the editor of the theological journal, Leader in Theological Sciences. As a censor, he evaluated new Prekmurian Catholic devotional books, such as Pray brothers! Jožef Radoha and Jožef Sakovič. Being a Prlek, he understood Prekmurian well and supported the publication of Prekmurian books. On September 24, 1937, the Municipality of Maribor awarded him the first Slomško Prize as a “nestor of Maribor’s cultural workers” .
On the anniversary of his birth, since 1997, Kovačić memorial evenings have been held in Veržej, a traditional event that takes place every year in the month of March. His bust stands in the middle of Veržej. In the premises of the Cultural Society of Slavko Osterec, you cann visit his memorial room, which this society also takes care of.
Works:
Občna metafizika ali Ontologija. Maribor: Cirilova tiskarna, 1905. Maribor: Tiskarna sv. Cirila, 1930 (2. izd.).
Trg Središče: krajepis in zgodovina: z zemljevidom središke občine, z desetimi slikami v tekstu in 24 tablicami. Maribor: Zgodovinsko društvo, 1910.
Slovenska Štajerska in Prekmurje: zgodovinski opis. Ljubljana: Matica Slovenska, 1926.
Ljutomer: zgodovina trga in sreza. Maribor: Zgodovinsko društvo, 1926.
Zgodovina Lavantinske škofije (1228-1928). Ob 700 letnici njene ustanovitve. Maribor: Lavantinski kn. šk. ordinaria, 1928.
Kritika ali noetika: nauk o spoznanju. Maribor: Tiskarna Sv. Cirila, 1930.
Služabnik božji Anton Martin Slomšek: knezoškof lavantinski. Celje: Družba sv. Mohorja, 1934. Buenos Aires: Baragovo misijonišče, 1962 (2. izd.).