Bishopric of Banja Luka

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Coordinates: 44 ° 46 ′ 31.3 "  N , 17 ° 11 ′ 42.5"  E

Bishopric of Banja Luka
Map of the Bishopric of Banja Luka
Basic data
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ecclesiastical province Vrhbosna
Metropolitan bishopric Archdiocese of Vrhbosna
Diocesan bishop Franjo Komarica
Auxiliary bishop Marko Semren OFM
Vicar General Anton Orlovac
founding 1881
surface 16,457 km²
Parishes 48 (2015 / AP 2016 )
Residents 540,000 (2015 / AP 2016 )
Catholics 34,361 (2015 / AP 2016 )
proportion of 6.4%
Diocesan priest 26 (2015 / AP 2016 )
Religious priest 41 (2015 / AP 2016 )
Catholics per priest 513
Friars 42 (2015 / AP 2016 )
Religious sisters 97 (2015 / AP 2016 )
rite Roman rite
Liturgical language Croatian
cathedral St. Bonaventure
address Kralja Petra 1, br. 80
BiH-78000 Banja Luka
Bosna i Hercegovina
Website www.biskupija-banjaluka.org

The diocese of Banja Luka ( Serbo-Croatian  Banjalučka biskupija / Бањалучка бискупија , Latin Dioecesis Bania Lucensis ) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Bosnia and Herzegovina with its seat in Banja Luka , which covers the entire north-western part of the state. As a suffragan diocese, it is subordinate to the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna . The current bishop is Franjo Komarica .

The historical location and church organization

Coat of arms of the Diocese of Banja Luka

A total of three quarters of today's diocese of Banja Luka is territorially the historical region of the Bosnian Krajina . Its area is in the north-west of Bosnia and spatially it is identical to the basin of the Una , Sana and Vrbas rivers . In the north as well as in the west it borders on Croatia - as was determined in the peace of Sistowa . Today this border is also the state border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Historically, the south and east borders of the diocese were movable. As a rule, they corresponded to the municipal boundaries of Srbac , Prnjavor , Četinac , Kotor Varoš , Skender Vakuf and Jajce , as well as the imaginary line from Jajce via Bosansko Grahovo to the Croatian border. Historically, the southern and eastern borders were called Turkish-Croatia (these are the parts of Croatia which had been conquered by the Ottomans and which in the course of history were included in Bosnia). These regions belonged to Croatia until the Middle Ages, divided into eight districts . In the 14th century the gaue Gorica , Dubica , Vrbas and Sana belonged politically to Slavonia (Eastern Croatia) and ecclesiastically to the diocese of Zagreb . At the same time the diocese of Zagreb formed the southern border of the Slavonian domain. Towards the end of the royal rule of the Bosnian King Tvrtko I in 1390, large parts of the Gaue of Vrbas and Sana came to Bosnia, ten years later also most of Dubica. From then on, the name Bosanska Krajina became common. With the Ottoman conquest and the fall of the defense lines, the territory of Bosnia expanded towards the northwest. Jajce and Banja Luka fell in 1528, Gradiška in 1537 and Bosansko Grahovo in 1538, Bosanski Novi in 1557 and Bihać in 1592 .

The largest part of this area belonged to the diocese of Zagreb, since at that time it comprised large parts of what is now northwestern Bosnia. The border of the diocese ran in the east from Bosanski Kobaš on the Save to the south to the Ukrina , followed its course up to the height of Prnjavor with the area of Kotor Varoš , north of Jajce along the Vrbas in a north-westerly direction via Ključ to the Una. There she met the diocese border of Knin and met the diocese of Krbava north of Bihać .

Ottoman rule

In the Ottoman sphere of influence, the Catholic population had fallen drastically due to emigration. Through constant war devastation in two or three centuries, the Catholic population structure almost completely disappeared, with its old čakavian dialect, completely from the areas between Vrbas and Kupa . Orthodox Christians (pravoslavci) from Old Razia , Herzegovina , Montenegro and Eastern Bosnia, as well as Muslims from all over the Paschalik, increasingly settled in these areas at the end of the 15th and 16th centuries . Part of the Catholic population converted to Islam in order to save lives and property , especially towards the end of the 16th and 17th centuries in the areas of the Una, near Bihać and Cazin . There were also transfers to the Serbian Orthodox Church, especially after the introduction of the calendar reform by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582. In the Bosnian Krajina, this was especially noted in the area between Banja Luka and Mrkonjić Grad . After the conquest of Kostajnica (70,000 Catholics), involuntary emigration was the order of the day, which drastically reduced the number of Catholics. Part of the population was led into slavery, a large part fled into the sphere of influence of the Catholic Habsburgs . In 1580 there were already 40,000 refugees living there. Towards the end of the 17th century they were followed by around 50,000 long-established Catholics from the areas of Una, Sana and Sava. The most massive emigration from all of Bosnia started during the Great Turkish War in the years 1683 to 1699 after the siege of Vienna . 100,000 Catholics moved to the free parts of Croatia, Hungary and Austria .

There were also pastors who led their congregations to free areas. For example, Pastor Juro Zgoščanin brought 4,500 Catholics to Slavonia from the parish of Zablaća near Ključ in 1686. In the official report to the Holy See, the Bosnian Bishop Nikola Ogremić (Olavčić) speaks in 1672 of eleven parishes with 22,252 Catholics who remained. In 1708 the visitor Vietri found only two parishes: Banja Luka and Motike .

As early as 1735, a Vicariate Apostolic was established for the few remaining Catholics in Bosnia . It existed for a full 146 years until the end of Turkish rule in 1878, which was a novelty. The number of believers increased numerically at times, partly due to natural growth, partly also due to the return of the Catholics who had previously fled via the Save and Una. By the bull Ex hac Augusta of Pope Leo XIII. the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna with its seat in Sarajevo and the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno was formed on July 5, 1881.

The diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan in eastern Herzegovina remained untouched and was entrusted to the bishop of Mostar. This church organization still exists today. The diocese of Banja Luka was first administered by the nuncio in Vienna, then twice by apostolic administrators , Archbishop of Sarajevo Josef Stadler (1883-1884) and Bishop Marijan Marković (1884-1912). Josip Stjepan Garić was the first resident bishop (1912-1946). Another Apostolic Administrator followed, the Bishop of Skopje , Smiljan Franjo Čekada (1946–1949) and then the diocesan bishops Dragutin Čelik (1951–1958), Alfred Pichler (1959–1989) and Franjo Komarica , who had been in charge of the diocese since the 13th century. July 1989 directs. When the diocese of Banja Luka was founded, the diocese had 23 parishes. The number of believers grew: from 36,000 in 1884 to 73,000 in 1910, this through natural growth, but also through immigration of Polish, German, Czech, Italian and Croatian Catholics and ethnic groups.

Second World War

The diocese was marked by catastrophic losses. A third of all municipalities - exactly thirteen - extinguished completely ( Novi Martinci , Rakovac , Deventina , Gunjera , Stara Dubrava , Šiborska , Kumova , Krnjeuša , Bosanski Petrovac , Bosansko Grahovo , Miljevac , Bosanski Novi and Bosanska Kostajnica ), around 10 other municipalities became substantial smaller ( Glamoč , Bosanski Aleksandrovac , Nova Topola , Mahovljani , Bosanska Dubica ...). The others suffered severe damage. In addition to a high number of dead believers, which was ultimately never exactly determined, the diocese also had to record the loss of numerous priests, a total of 33 clergymen died.

The diocese from 1992 to 1995

Before the beginning of the Bosnian War , around 120,000 Catholics lived in the diocese. In 1991 Bishop Komarica and his priests spoke out strongly against taking up arms. Her tenor was that nothing could be solved by force of arms. The vast majority of Catholics listened to him and resisted the call for mobilization. This refusal provided those who had forcibly seized power an excuse and pretext for the first layoffs, evictions from apartments and houses, and murders of civilians and priests. Deportation of believers and priests to camps and unbearable labor services. Over time, the brutality of the respective rulers should increase even further. During the war, Bishop Komarica tirelessly appealed for help and appeals to the whole world for the protection of the faithful, but also of all other persecuted people. He met regularly with local and foreign politicians, with representatives of the local police and the Serbian armed forces, as well as with the heads of the religious communities, and repeatedly sought out his scattered believers - often at risk of death. For believers in the diocese and internationally, he became a symbol of non-violent resistance and of not coming to terms with destruction and evil. Bishop Komarica was mistreated several times and was under house arrest for seven and a half months. 400 Catholics, civilians, were murdered. The majority of the faithful lost their belongings in the diocese, especially in 1992 and 1993. In 1991, there were around 80,000 Catholics in the diocese's areas, compared to just 6,500 in 1997. Today there are around 30,000 believers. 98% of the churches and chapels were damaged or destroyed and 35% of the churches, monasteries and parish centers were destroyed, some of which were only rebuilt with international help after the severe earthquake of 1969. Some of the church's property, real estate and movable property, has been confiscated.

Bishops

See also

literature

  • The Crucified Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The destruction of Catholic sacred buildings in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Edited by the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Croatian Information Center. 1997, ISBN 953-6058-22-7 .
  • Love.Power.inventive. - revelations. Author Winfried Gburek in conversation with Bishop Dr. Franjo Komarica. Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-7375-4180-0 .

Web links

Commons : Diocese of Banja Luka  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files