The Diocese of Bosnia (Latin: Dioecesis Bosniensis) existed in Bosnia between the 11th and 15th centuries, and remained as a single title until 1773[2][3] when it was given to the Bishop of Sirmia.
It is not known precisely when the Bosnian diocese was established. Based on a collection of historical documents Provinciale Vetus, published in 1188, which mention it twice, once subordinated to the Archdiocese of Split, and another time under the Archdiocese of Ragusa, it is assumed that it came into existence between 1060 and 1075.[4] During the 12th century, it was contested between those two archdioceses as well as another two, the Archdiocese of Antivari and the Archdiocese of Kalocsa.[5] In 1244, an endowment of the parishes of Đakovo and Blezna by King Bela IV of Hungary listed the other parishes of the diocese, namely Vrhbosna, Neretva, Lepenica, Vidgossa (Viduša), Mile (near today's Visoko), Lašva, Uskoplje, Brod (near today's Zenica), Borač (near today's Rogatica).[6][7]
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Bishops of Bosnia were mainly Dominican missionaries who were sent in to combat the spread of the Bosnian Church.[8] At the turn of the 14th century, the Franciscans also arrived with the same purpose, at first in Usora and Soli, at the request of Stephen Dragutin of Serbia.[9] The two orders engaged in a prolonged dispute over the control of the province, in which the Franciscans ultimately prevailed, yet the weakened diocese still succumbed to the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia in 1463.[10]
During the Ottoman occupation, the bishop of Bosnia had no effective control over the territory of Bosnia, rather, the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena remained the primary vessel of Catholicism in the area. In 1735, the Holy See founded the Apostolic Vicariate for Bosnia, and assigned Franciscans as apostolic vicars to direct it, thereby formally ending the jurisdiction of this diocese over Bosnia.
On 5 July 1881, Pope Leo XIII issued Ex hac augusta Principis Apostolorum cathedra, a bull by which he restored the regular Church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With the restoration, both vicariates, the Bosnian (1735–1881) and the Herzegovinian (1846–81) were abolished.[12]
The old Diocase of Bosnia was elevated as the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna.[13] The pope subordinated to it three other dioceses: the newly established Diocese of Banja Luka, the already existing Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan (under the apostolic administration from the bishop of Dubrovnik at the time) and the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, to which he added the title of bishop of Duvno as well. The Diocese of Mostar-Duvno encompassed the territory of the Apostolic Vicariate of Herzegovina, which was abolished.[14]
The Apostolic Vicar of Bosnia Paškal Vuičić was simply retired after the abolishment of the vicariate, while the Apostolic Vicar of Herzegovina Paškal Buconjić was appointed Bishop of Mostar-Duvno. Josip Stadler was appointed the Archbishop of Vrhbosna and Administrator of Banja Luka.[15]
The Bosnian War, which resulted in the Siege of Sarajevo on the archdiocese's home, gravely impacted the archdiocese. In the war's aftermath, repairs had to be completed to many damaged churches and chapels. The biggest struggle has been the exodus of Croats, causing the Catholic population in the diocese to drop to less than half of what it was before the conflict.
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Vrhbosna on 8 April 1908 and consecrated on 28 May 1908. Appointed Archbishop of Vrhbosna on 2 May 1922. Died in office on 16 July 1960.
1960
1970
Marko Alaupović
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Vrhbosna on 21 May 1950 and consecrated on 24 September 1950. Appointed Archbishop of Vrhbosna on 7 September 1960. Resigned on 13 January 1970 and died on 8 April 1979.
1970
1976
Smiljan Franjo Čekada
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Vrhbosna on 6 June 1939 and consecrated on 6 August 1939. Translated to Skopje on 18 August 1940. Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Vrhbosna on 12 June 1967. Succeeded Archbishop of Vrhbosna on 13 January 1970. Died in office on 16 July 1976.
Formerly Priest of Banja Luka. Appointed Archbishop of Vrhbosna on 19 November 1990 and consecrated on 6 January 1991. Elevated to Cardinal on 26 November 1994. Participated on Conclave 2005 and Conclave 2013. Retired on 29 January 2022.
Josip Stadler, Servant of God - the first modern archbishop of Vrhbosna and the founder of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus. The process for his canonization began in Sarajevo on June 20, 2002.
The Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.
The Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan is a particular church of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Established in the 10th century, is the oldest Catholic diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the number of faithful, it is also the smallest. Its seat is in Trebinje.
The Diocese of Banja Luka is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in western Bosnia. The diocese is centred in the city of Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Diocese of Mostar-Duvno is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It encompasses northern Herzegovina. The episcopal seat is in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed on 5 July 1881, when the Apostolic Vicariate of Herzegovina was elevated to the diocese. It is the largest Catholic diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the number of Catholics.
Ivan Šarić was a Catholic priest who became the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna in 1922. In 1940, Šarić was tasked by the national bishops' conference to put together the first modern Croatian translation of the Bible. A benefactor of the Bosnian Croat population, Šarić became a controversial figure because of his pro-Ustasha activities and rhetoric, including his support for forcible conversions to Catholicism inside the Independent State of Croatia during World War II.
Ratko Perić is a prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1993 until his retirement in 2020. After his retirement in July 2020, he briefly served as the apostolic administrator of both dioceses until the instalment of his successor Petar Palić in September 2020.
Mato Vodopić was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of Dubrovnik from 1882 until he died in 1893 and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje Mrkan from 1882 until 1890. He wrote poems for some special occasions and was a storyteller and collector of folk ballads. He remains the only native to serve as the bishop of Dubrovnik since the abolishment of the Republic of Ragusa in 1808.
Alojzije Mišić was a Bosnian Croat Franciscan and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and the apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1912 until his death in 1942.
Franciscan Province of Herzegovina of the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a province of the Catholic religious order of the Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as Franciscans. It was established in 1843 when it seceded from the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena. Its headquarters are in Mostar.
Tomo Vukšić is a theologian and a prelate of the Catholic Church from Bosnia and Herzegovina who was named metropolitan archbishop of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vrhbosna in January 2022, after serving two years as archbishop coadjutor. He has also been the apostolic administrator of the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2020.
Diocese of Bosnia was a Latin Catholic diocese that existed in Bosnia between the 11th and 15th centuries, and remained formally in existence until 1773.
Apostolic Vicariate of Herzegovina was an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in the Ottoman Herzegovina that existed between 1846 and 1881, when it was abolished with the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno established on its place.
Paškal Buconjić was Herzegovinian Croat Franciscan and a prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of Mostar-Duvno from 1881 to 1910, as the apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1890 to 1910, as the apostolic vicar of Herzegovina from 1880 to 1881, and as custos of the Franciscan Custody of Herzegovina between 1874 and 1879.
Ex hac augusta Principis Apostolorum cathedra is a papal bull issued by Pope Leo XIII on 5 July 1881, by which he restored the regular Church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina after its occupation by Austria-Hungary from the Ottoman Empire, with Archdiocese of Vrhbosna seated in Sarajevo having three suffragan dioceses: Banja Luka, Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan, with latter being under the administration of the bishop of Dubrovnik.
Lazar Lazarević was a Herzegovinian Croat Catholic priest who served as the bishop's deputy (provicar) for the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1867, and as spiritual administrator of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan from 1910 until 1912. Lazarević was a supporter of the independence of the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan from the administration of the neighboring dioceses.
Radoslav Glavaš was a Herzegovinian Croat Franciscan, writer and cultural worker. From 1904 he was a secretary of Bishop Paškal Buconjić of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan and from 1910 he served as a general vicar the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno.
Nikola Ferić was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1792 to 1819. Ferić was the last residential bishop of Trebinje-Mrkan, which was, ever since his death, administered by the bishops of Dubrovnik and the bishops of Mostar-Duvno.
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. ISBN9958370298.
Povijest Bosne i Hercegovine od najstarijih vremena do godine 1463 (in Croatian). Vol.I. Sarajevo: HKD Napredak. 1998.
Šanjek, Franjo (1996). Kršćanstvo na hrvatskom prostoru. Pregled religiozne povijesti Hrvata (7.-20. st.) (in Croatian). Zagreb: Kršćanska sadašnjost.
Vrankić, Petar (2016). "Izbori i imenovanja biskupa u Hercegovini u doba austro-ugarske vladavine (1878. - 1918.) na primjeru biskupa fra Paškala Buconjića" [Elections and appointments of bishops in Herzegovina during the Austrian-Hungarian rule (1878 - 1918) on the example of Bishop Fr. Paškal Buconjić]. Hercegovina (in Croatian). 2: 109–140.
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