Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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The Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.
According to the latest census from 2013, there are 544,114 Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making up 15.41% of the population.
According to the official Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina the total number of Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022 was only 333,790.[1]
History
Antiquity
Christianity arrived in
After the Edict of Milan, Christianity spread rapidly. Christians and bishops from the area of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina settled around two metropolitan seats, Salona and Sirmium. Several early Christian dioceses developed in the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries. Andrija, Bishop of Bistue (episcopus Bestoensis), was mentioned at synods in Salona in 530 and 533. Bishop Andrija probably had a seat in the Roman municipium Bistue Nova, near Zenica. The synod in Salona decided to create the new diocese of Bistue Vetus), separating it from the Diocese of Bistue Nova. Several dioceses also were established in the south at Martari (present-day Konjic), Sarsenterum, Delminium, Baloie and Lausinium.[2]
With the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and with the ravaging and settling of
Medieval era
After the arrival of the
Diocese of Trebinje was the first diocese in this area established in the Middle Ages. It is mentioned for the first time in the second half of the 10th century during the pontificate of Pope Gregory V.[4]
The
At the time, the Bosnian Church, accused of heresy, existed in medieval Bosnia. The first missionaries that got the exclusive right to missionary work and inquisition in medieval Bosnia were the Dominicans.[6] Any priest that used the native language in the liturgy could become suspicious of heresy. For this reason, in 1233, Pope Gregory IX deposed Bishop Vladimir and appointed his successor John the German, who was also a Dominican friar. After the seat of the Bishop of Bosnia was moved to Đakovo in 1247, the influence of the Dominicans in Bosnia started to diminish.[7]
The
Even afterward, the Franciscans spent little time educating the local secular clergy. Instead, the Bosnian vicar Fra Bartul of Auvergne tried to attract foreign Franciscans to do missionary work.[8] The Franciscans gained a number of privileges, including the election of provincials, apostolic visitators, vicars and bishops.[9]
Ottoman era
Bosnia and Herzegovina split between the kingdoms of Croatia and Bosnia came under
The Eastern Orthodox Church enjoyed a better position in the Ottoman Empire than other religions. Since the pope was a political opponent of the empire, Catholics were subordinate to the Orthodox. Unlike the Orthodox metropolitans and bishops, Catholic bishops were not recognized as ecclesiastical dignitaries. The Ottoman government recognized only some Catholic communities, particularly in larger cities with a strong Catholic commercial population. The authorities issued them
The number of Catholics in Bosnia under Ottoman rule is unknown. Based on travel literature, it is believed that in the first half of the 16th century, the Catholic population still constituted a majority. Serbs who came from the east were also identified as Catholic, and Turkish soldiers primarily constituted the Islamic population. According to Apostolic visitor Peter Masarechi, in 1624 Catholics made up about a quarter of the population and Muslims the majority. During the 17th century Catholics fell to third place in the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they remain today.[10]
Restoration of church hierarchy
The attempts of the Roman Curia to establish the regular church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina existed since the 13th century.[13] However, due to political reasons, as well as because of the opposition from the Franciscans, these attempts failed.[14]
The Franciscans opposed the efforts of local bishops to implement secular clergy in Bosnian parishes,[15] and even sought help from the Ottomans to push them out of the country.[16]
In 1612 and again in 1618, Rome sent Bartol Kašić, a Jesuit from Dubrovnik to report the situation in the lands under Ottoman rule in Southeast Europe. Kašić wrote the Pope back in 1613, stating that "if your Holiness does not take some effective means so that the Bosnian Friars do not prevent the persons sent by your Holiness, no one will be able to make sure that they do will not hand them over to the Turks with the usual and unusual slanders. They know how much they can do in the hearts of the Turks, to exploit the money from poor priests."[17]
Head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Urbanus Cerri, wrote to Pope Innocent XI in 1676, that the Franciscans in Bosnia are "the richest in the whole Order, but also the most licentious, and that they are opposed to the secular clergy in fear for the payment for the maintenance of priests from the parishes with which they maintain their monasteries, and that notwithstanding all the orders from Rome, it would not be possible to implement the secular clergy in Bosnia because Franciscans would cause the opposition from the Turks against the secular clergy".[18]
In the 19th century, the Franciscans opposed the efforts of local bishops, Rafael Barišić and Marijan Šunjić, both of whom were Franciscans, to open a seminary for the education of the secular clergy. The so-called Barišić affair lasted for 14 years, between 1832 and 1846, and gained attention in Rome, Istanbul and Vienna.[19]
After
Austro-Hungarian rule
In negotiations between the Holy See and Austro-Hungary, the Emperor of Austria had the last word in the appointment of bishops. Diocesan clergy and the Franciscans (some of the only clergy in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman era) were in place. Josip Stadler, professor of theology at University of Zagreb, was appointed archbishop of Vrhbosna, and the dioceses of Mostar and Banja Luka were entrusted to Franciscans Paškal Buconjić and Marijan Marković. To protect the diocesan priests, Stadler asked the Holy See to remove the Franciscans from all parishes. The Holy See ruled that in 1883 the Franciscans had to transfer part of their parishes to the archbishop; by the end of the century, about one-third of the former Franciscan parishes were held by local bishops. The archbishop sought several more parishes, which created tensions.[10]
Under Austro-Hungarian rule the number of Catholics increased by about 230,000, largely due to immigration from elsewhere in the empire. The total number of immigrants was about 135,000, of which 95,000 were Catholic. One-third of the immigrant Catholics were Croatian, and 60,000 were
Interwar period
The
Ivan Šarić was expected to be appointed Stadler's successor after his death, but the Belgrade government and Franciscans in Bosnia opposed him because of his similarity to Stadler. On 2 May 1922, Šarić was appointed archbishop of Vrhbosna.[21]
Under communism
The ideological conflict between Christianity and
Persecution of priests, laity and the church became organized after the war, with books published linking the Catholic Church with the fascist Ustaše regime and the Western powers, to justify the persecution. The communists ignored the collaboration of 75 Catholic priests with the Yugoslav Partisans.[24]
Faced with hostility from the Yugoslav communist authorities after the Second World War, the bishops met in Zagreb and issued a pastoral letter from the Catholic bishops of Yugoslavia on 20 September 1945 protesting injustice, crimes, trials and executions. They protected innocent priests and laity, noting that they did not want to defend the guilty; the number truly guilty was believed small.
We admit that there were some priests who – seduced by the nationalistic patriotism – violated the sacred law of Christian justice and love, and who therefore deserve to be tried in the court of terrestrial justice. We must however point out that the number of such priests is more than negligible, and that the serious allegations which have been presented in the press and in the meetings against a large part of the Catholic clergy in Yugoslavia, have to be included within tendentious attempts to deceive the public aware of the lies, and take away the reputation of the Catholic Church ...[22]
The earthquake that struck the Banja Luka area in October 1969 significantly damaged Banja Luka Cathedral, which had to be demolished. In 1972 and 1973 the present, modern tent-shaped cathedral was built on its site.[25]
Bosnian War
In August 1991, when war in Croatia had begun and was beginning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Archbishop Puljić and Bishops Komarica and Žanić appealed to the authorities, religious communities and the international community to preserve Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and prevent war. However, bishops differed about the internal organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Žanić believed that each ethnic group should have a separate administrative unit within the country, but Puljić and the leadership of the Franciscan Province of Bosnia Argentina insisted on a single state without divisions. In 1994, the bishops demanded that the rights of all nations must be ensured in the country as a whole. They opposed dividing Bosnia and Herzegovina into states because Catholic religious, sacred and cultural objects would remain largely outside the area granted to the Croats. They also feared the destruction of established diocesan borders of dioceses, which would have political consequences.[26]
Throughout Bosnia, Catholic churches were destroyed by Muslim and Serb armed forces. According to some sources, it is estimated that the total number of completely destroyed Catholic structures is 188, 162 severely damaged and 230 damaged. Of these figures, 86 percent of these "completely destroyed" were attributed to Serb forces and 14 percent to Muslim forces, of the "severely damaged" 69 percent were attributed to Serb forces and 31 percent to Muslim forces, while in the "damaged" category 60 percent was attributed to Serb forces and 40 percent to Muslim forces.[27] But numbers could be much larger, as given in the table below.
Destroyed by Muslim extremists | Destroyed by Serb extremists | Damaged by Muslim extremists | Damaged by Serb extremists | Total destroyed during the war | Total damaged during the war | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
churches | 8 | 117 | 67 | 120 | 125 | 187 | 312 |
chapels | 19 | 44 | 75 | 89 | 63 | 164 | 227 |
clergy houses | 9 | 56 | 40 | 121 | 65 | 161 | 226 |
monasteries | 0 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 22 | 30 |
cemeteries | 8 | 0 | 61 | 95 | 8 | 156 | 164 |
Total | 44 | 225 | 250 | 481 | 269 | 731 | 1000 |
Modern history
In 2009 the remains of friar Maksimilijan Jurčić, killed by partisans on 28 January 1945, were discovered and buried in Široki Brijeg.[30][31] Among those in attendance at his funeral was Ljubo Jurčić (the friar's nephew) and the Croatian consul-general in Mostar, Velimir Pleša.[32]
Hierarchy
The Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina has one
.Province | Diocese | Approximate territory | Cathedral | Creation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sarajevo | ||||
Archdiocese of Vrhbosna Archidioecesis Vrhbosnensis o Seraiensis |
Central Bosnia, Semberija, Posavina, Podrinje | Sacred Heart Cathedral | 5 July 1881 | |
Diocese of Banja Luka Dioecesis Banialucensis |
Bosanska Krajina, Tropolje, Donji Krajevi, Pounje | Cathedral of Saint Bonaventure |
5 July 1881 | |
Diocese of Mostar-Duvno Dioecesis Mandentriensis-Dulminiensis |
Herzegovina, Gornje Podrinje | Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Church |
14th century (originally as the Diocese of Duvno) | |
Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan Dioecesis Tribuniensis-Marcanensis |
South and East Herzegovina | Cathedral of the Birth of Mary |
984 | |
- | Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ordinariatus Militaris in Bosnia et Herzegovina |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 February 2011 |
The
Attitudes
According to a Pew Research poll from 2017, Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina are predominantly supportive of the Church's stances on moral and social issues: 54% of respondents attend mass every week, 58% believe the Church's stance on contraception should not change, 69% support the Church's stance on the ordination of women, 71% think abortion should be illegal in most cases, 83% practice fasting on certain days and 90% support the Church's stance on same-sex marriage.[33]
Shrines
Queen of Peace, Medjugorje
Our Lady of Olovo
The Church of the
Saint John the Baptist, Podmilačje
The Shrine of St.
Shrine of Saint Leopold Mandić in Maglaj
Maglaj is a town in central Bosnia in the Bosna Valley near Doboj. It was first mentioned on 16 September 1408 in the charter (sub castro nostro Maglay) of the Hungarian King Sigismund. The parish of Maglaj was restored in 1970, and a rectory was built. In the autumn of 1976 the dilapidated St. Anthony Church, built in 1919, was demolished. Construction of a new church and shrine to St. Leopold Mandić began the following spring, and its foundations were blessed on 15 May. On 17 June 1979, the shrine of St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić in Maglaj was dedicated.
Apostolic Nunciature
The Apostolic Nunciature to Bosnia and Herzegovina is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The office of the nunciature has been located in
See also
- Catholic Church by country
- Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Eastern Orthodoxy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Protestantism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
References
- ^ "Crkvena statistika u Bosni i Hercegovini od 2021. do 2022. godine".
- ^ a b "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Bosnia and Herzegovina". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2019-03-12.
- ^ a b Šanjek, Franjo (1996). Kršćanstvo na hrvatskom prostoru [Christianity in the Croatian regions] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Kršaćnska sadašnjost.
- ^ "Biskupia trebinjsko-mrkanska". md-tm.ba/. Diocese of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ OŠJ 1975, p. 134.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 36.
- ^ a b Perić 2002, p. 37.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 38–39.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 41.
- ^ a b c d e Vasilj, Snježana; Džaja, Srećko; Karamatić, Marko; Vukšić, Tomo (1997). Katoličanstvo u Bosni i Hercegovini [Catholicism in Bosnia and Herzegovina] (in Croatian). Sarajevo: HKD Napredak.
- ^ "Stara crkva". zupavares.com. Vareš Parish. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/05/09154356/Central-and-Eastern-Europe-Topline_FINAL-FOR-PUBLICATION.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Džaja 2002, p. 46.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 54–61.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 43, 49.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 44, 47.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 43–44.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 42.
- ^ Perić 2002, p. 58–59.
- ^ a b Leo XIII, Ex hac augusta
- ^ a b Goluža, Božo (1995). Katolička Crkva u Bosni i Hercegovini 1918.-1941. Mostar: Teološki institut Mostar.
- ^ a b Lučić, Ivan (20 November 2011). "Progon Katoličke Crkve u Bosni i Hercegovini u vrijeme komunističke vlasti (1945–1990)". Croatica Christiana Periodica. 36: 105–144. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ Pandžić, Bazilije (2001). Hercegovački franjevci sedam stoljeća s narodom [Herzegovinian Franciscans seven centuries with people] (in Croatian). Mostar-Zagreb: Ziral.
- ^ Petešić, Ćiril (1982). Katoličko svećenstvo u NOB-u 1941–1945 [Catholic clergy in National liberation movement] (in Croatian). Zagreb: VPA.
- ^ "Župa Banja Luka". biskupija-banjaluka.org. Diocese of Banja Luka. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ Krišto, Jure (June 2015). "Katolička Crkva u Bosni i Hercegovini (1991–1995)". Croatica Christiana Periodica. 39: 197–227. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ Walasek, Helen (2015). Bosnia and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage. New York: Routledge. p. 153.
- ^ Destroyed and damaged Catholic churches and religious buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina in war 1991 - 1995 (original title: Srušene i oštećene katoličke crkve i vjerski objekti u Bosni i Hercegovini u ratu 1991. - 1995), Slobodan Praljak, page 39, 2009
- ^ a b Pope's Trip Helped Highlight the Plight Archived 2010-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Široki Brijeg: Pokopani posmrtni ostaci fra Maksimilijana Jurčića Archived 2009-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Misa za 66 ubijenih hercegovačkih franjevaca, Catholic Press Agency Zagreb
- ^ FRA MAKSIMILIJAN POKOPAN CRKVI UZNESENJA BL. DJEVICE MARIJE Archived 2010-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/05/09154356/Central-and-Eastern-Europe-Topline_FINAL-FOR-PUBLICATION.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Vatican Probes Claims of Apparitions at Medugorje". Reuters. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ "Holy See confirms creation of Medjugorje Commission". Catholic News Agency (ACI Prensa). March 17, 2010.
- ^ "Apostolic Nunciature Bosnia and Herzegovina". gcatholic.org. GCatholic. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
Bibliography
- Opći šematizam Katoličke crkve u Jugoslaviji 1974 (in Croatian). Zagreb: Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia. 1975.
- Džaja, Srećko (2002). Bosna i Hercegovina u austrougarskom razdoblju (1878 - 1918) [Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Austrian-Hungarian period (1878 - 1918)] (in Croatian). Mostar: ZIRAL. ISBN 9958370298.
- Perić, Marko (2002). Hercegovačka afera: pregled događaja i važniji dokumenti [Herzegovina Affair: review of events and relevant documents] (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar.
External links
- Media related to Roman Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina at Wikimedia Commons