Roman Catholicism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Encyclopedia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
and curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Alessandro D'Errico is the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Montenegro.
History
ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
was introduced into Bosnia and Herzegovina from Salona
Salona
Salona was an ancient Illyrian Delmati city in the first millennium BC. The Greeks had set up an emporion there. After the conquest by the Romans, Salona became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia...
at a very early date. Many of the dioceses which were suffragans of the Archdiocese of Salona in the 6th century must be sought within the present limits of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is especially true of the Bishopric of Bistue (Bestoeensis ecclesia) which was situated in the heart of the upper part of the present Bosnia.
The 1969 Banja Luka earthquake destroyed the cathedral of the Diocese of Banja Luka. The new cathedral was built from 1972 to 1973.
Following the 1992-95 war, many Croatian Catholics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina form one of the three constitutive nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.There is no precise data regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's population since the last war. Ethnic cleansing within Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s saw the vast majority of Croats move and take...
fled to Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, and the local Bishop was said to be struggling to have the Croats return to their homeland because of persistent difficulties there.
John Paul II's visit to Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
and Bosnia-Herzegovina of 23.06.2003. helped to draw the attention of Catholics worldwide to the need to reconstruct the Church in the country. The destruction of churches and chapels was one of the most visible wounds of the 1992-95 war. In the Diocese of Banja Luka
Roman Catholic Diocese of Banja Luka
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Banja Luka a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in western Bosnia. The diocese is centred in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Erected on July 5, 1881, the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, as the Diocese of...
alone, which the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
visited Sunday, 39 churches were destroyed and 22 suffered considerable damage. Nine chapels were destroyed and 14 were damaged; two convents were devastated and one severely damaged, as were 33 cemeteries.
In 2009 the remains of fra Maksimilijan Jurčić, killed by Partisans on 28 January 1945 were discovered and subsequently buried in Široki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg
-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...
. Among those in attendance at the funeral was Ljubo Jurčić
Ljubo Jurcic
Ljubo Jurčić is a Croatian economist, current president of the Croatian Association of Economists since 2006 and former Croatian Minister of the Economy ....
the friar's nephew, and the Croatian consul-general in Mostar Velimir Pleša. The cause of the martyrdom of the Herzegovinian Franciscans is led by the Vicepostulation Fra Leo Petrović and 65 Comrades.
Demographics
There are an estimated 625,000 baptised Roman Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina, roughly 16% of the population.Within Bosnia and Herzegovina the hierarchy consists of:
- Archbishopric
- Bishopric
- Vrhbosna (Sarajevo)Roman Catholic Archdiocese of VrhbosnaThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in eastern Bosnia. Its episcopal see is the city of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was elevated to an archdiocese on July 5, 1881. The Diocese of Vrhbosna is much older...
- Banja LukaRoman Catholic Diocese of Banja LukaThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Banja Luka a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in western Bosnia. The diocese is centred in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Erected on July 5, 1881, the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, as the Diocese of...
- Mostar-DuvnoRoman Catholic Diocese of Mostar-DuvnoThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Mostar-Duvno is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church encompassing Herzegovina. The diocese, as well as the Franciscan Province, is centred in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed on July 5, 1881...
- Trebinje-MrkanRoman Catholic Diocese of Trebinje-MrkanThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in eastern Herzegovina.It is the oldest and smallest Roman Catholic diocese of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The diocese was formed sometime before the year 1022...
- Banja Luka
- The Diocese of Skopje which is located in the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
is also under the Vrhbosna Archdiocese. - The Bishops of Mostar-Duvno serve also as perpetual Apostolic Administrators of the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan.
- There are two Franciscan provinces in the country, the Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryFranciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryThe Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a province of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church in Herzegovina...
based in MostarMostarMostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
and the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena based in SarajevoSarajevoSarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. - On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, the Vatican Information ServiceVatican Information ServiceThe Vatican Information Service is an official news service of the Holy See Press Office.The service was founded in 1991, and transmits news on a daily basis at 3pm Rome time, except during the month of August and on Vatican State holidays .The service is available in four languages: English,...
(VIS) announced that the Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, had erected the new Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also appointing the Reverend Father Tomo Vuksic as the first Military Ordinary of the country.
