Student of the Jesuit College at St. James’s (1754–1760)
Jurij Japelj was born on April 11, 1744, in Kamnik, to Primož Apel and Jera.
He received his early education in Kamnik under Miha Frančišek Paglovec. After private schooling, he continued his education at the Jesuit College at St. James’s in Ljubljana, and later studied in Gorizia and Graz.
He was ordained a priest in 1769 in Trieste, where in 1771 he became a chaplain at the Church of St. Anthony.
From 1773 to 1786, Japelj served as a canon and notary for Bishop Herberstein in Ljubljana. At the bishop’s request, in 1777, he began translating The Large Catechism with Questions and Answers, which was published in 1779 and reprinted in a second edition.
In 1784, a collection of liturgical texts was published under the title Church Songs, Prayers, and Gospels for Both Household Services.
Together with Blaž Kumerdej, Japelj organized the translation of the Bible. The Holy Men of the New Testament was published in two parts, in 1784 and 1786.
In 1787, he became professor of dogmatics, initially in Ježica near Ljubljana. That same year, he began working on Stories and Gospels for All Sundays and Holidays of the Year, a 382-page book.
He also contributed—though to a lesser extent—to the translation of the Old Testament. Together with Kumerdej, he translated the first four books of Moses, and translated the fifth (Deuteronomy) himself. The complete Pentateuch was published in 1791.
In 1794, he published Sermons for All Sundays of the Year.
Japelj became pastor and dean in Naklo in 1795, and in 1799 he was appointed head of the seminary in Klagenfurt.
He also worked to revive the Academy of the Industrious (Academia operosorum) and served as its secretary.
In 1800, he was named canon and member of the diocesan consistory, and in 1806, he became school inspector and education advisor. In 1807, he was appointed Bishop of Trieste.
In 1805, he wrote an elegy in memory of Baron Wulfen. His last published words appeared in a tribute to Emperor Francis I.
Japelj also wrote a Slovene grammar, a work referenced by Linhart, though it remained unpublished. The manuscript is preserved in the Lyceum Library, today known as the National and University Library of Slovenia.
Jurij Japelj died on October 11, 1807, in Klagenfurt.
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