Franjo Komarica

Last updated
The Most Reverend

Franjo Komarica
Bishop Emeritus of Banja Luka
Franjo Komarica 1.jpg
Diocese Banja Luka
See Banja Luka
Installed15 May 1989
Term ended8 December 2023
Predecessor Alfred Pichler
Successor Željko Majić
Orders
Ordination29 June 1972
by Alfred Pichler
Consecration6 January 1986
by  John Paul II
Personal details
Born
Franjo Komarica

(1946-02-03) 3 February 1946 (age 78)
Banja Luka, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
NationalityBosnia and Herzegovina
Denomination Catholic
Previous post(s) Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka (and Titular Bishop of Satafis; 1985–1989)
EducationFaculty of Catholic Theology in Insbruck
MottoGospodin je moja snaga i moja pjesma (The Lord is my strength and my song)
Coat of arms Coat of Arms of Bishop Franjo Komarica.svg
Ordination history of
Franjo Komarica
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained by Alfred Pichler
Date29 June 1972
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator Pope John Paul II
Co-consecrators Agostino Cardinal Casaroli
Bernardin Cardinal Gantin
Date6 January 1986
Place St. Peter's Basilica
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Franjo Komarica as principal consecrator
Marko Semren18 September 2010
Styles of
Franjo Komarica
Coat of Arms of Bishop Franjo Komarica.svg
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Franjo Komarica (born 3 February 1946) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Banja Luka from 1989 to 2023.

Contents

Early life

One of eleven children, Komarica was born in Novakovići near Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Ivka ( née  Marić) and Ivo Komarica. [1] He finished elementary school in Banja Luka, then he attended the minor seminary in Zagreb (1961–63) and Đakovo (1963–65). After completing his compulsory military service he began theological studies in Ðakovo (1967–68), and continued studying at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Innsbruck (1968–72).[ citation needed ]

Priesthood

Komarica was ordained to the priesthood by Alfred Pichler on June 29, 1972 [2] in Mariastern Abbey, near Banja Luka, and then continued special studies in Innsbruck, where he earned master's degree in 1973, and doctorate in liturgy in 1978.[ citation needed ]

Episcopal ministry

On 28 October 1985, Komarica was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka and Titular Bishop of Satafis in Africa by Pope John Paul II. [2] He received his episcopal consecration from John Paul II, with Agostino Casaroli and Bernardin Gantin serving as co-consecrators on 6 January 1986. [2] Until the retirement of Bishop Alfred Pichler Komarica served as Bishop's Vicar General. On 15 May 1989, he was appointed Bishop of Banja Luka and two months later, officially took the office.

Role during the Bosnian war

Just a few years after he took the office whole Bosnia and Herzegovina and particular the Diocese of Banja Luka faced with armed aggression. During the Bosnian war, Bishop Komarica's diocese fell under Serbian control. Over 220,000 Roman Catholics were forced to flee the area now known as Republika Srpska, at least 400 were killed, including seven priests and nun. In the Diocese of Banja Luka, 98% of churches and a third of other Church property was destroyed in the war. [3] "It is an ethnocide, or genocide", the bishop said in 1996, "because the presence of a nation, its culture and religion is being wiped out. All the recognisable signs of our existence are being destroyed: churches, monasteries, graveyards, monuments, names, ..." [3]

During the war, although under house arrest and could not move around, the Bishop reportedly tried to keep in contact with his diocese, sending out priests to bring him information from the various parishes while endeavouring to make contact with Bosnian Serbian officials. During and after the war, Komarica reportedly gave hospitality in his own residence to displaced Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic families, numbering more than 30 people at a time. [4]

After the war

Bishop Komarica (right) with Bishop Vinko Puljic and Bishop Luigi Pezzuto Puljic, Pezzuto and Komarica.jpg
Bishop Komarica (right) with Bishop Vinko Puljić and Bishop Luigi Pezzuto

After the Yugoslav wars, Komarica remained a supporter of preserving Croatian and Roman Catholic traditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [5] In 2004 he was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. [6] In 2005, at the request of Komarica, the Missionaries of Charity, opened their first monastery in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 16 November 2005, Komarica founded the European Academy in Banja Luka. [7] Two months later, on 6 February 2006, he established the Center for Life and Family of Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina.[ citation needed ]

On 8 December 2023, Pope Francis accepted his resignation and appointed Željko Majić as his successor. [8]

Awards


See also

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References

  1. ↑ Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina profile of Bishop Komarica, bkbih.ba; accessed 13 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bishop Franjo Komarica". Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 Bishop seeks to heal wounds of Bosnian war, catholicherald.co.uk; accessed 13 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Impulses of the Spirit: the servant church after Vatican II". America. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  5. ↑ "Bosnia-Herzegovina: Thousands of Catholics want to return" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , members4.boardhost.com; accessed 13 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Visit of Bishop Franjo Komarica to Harvard: "Developed Europe and the US Should Not Abandon Us"". Croatian Chronicle Network. 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "O nama" (in Croatian). Europska akademija. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Obavijest o imenovanju novog banjoluckog biskupa" [Notice on the appointment of the new bishop of Banja Luka]. Banjolučka biskupija (in Croatian). Banja Luka. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Odluka kojom se biskup Franjo Komarica odlikuje". Narodne novine (in Croatian). 2 July 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "УРУЧЕНА ОДЛИКОВАЊА ПОВОДОМ ДАНА РЕПУБЛИКЕ (ФОТО)". РТРС (in Serbian).
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by— TITULAR —
Bishop of Satafis
1985–1989		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Banja Luka
1989–2023		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the BKBiH
2010–2022		Succeeded by
President of the BKBiH
2002–2005		Succeeded by
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