Archdiocese of Vrhbosna Archidioecesis Vrhbosnensis o Seraiensis Vrhbosanska nadbiskupija |
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Location | |
Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Ecclesiastical province | Sarajevo |
Metropolitan | Sarajevo |
Statistics | |
Area | 22,401 km2 (8,649 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2010) 1,960,000 198,012 (10.1%) |
Parishes | 153 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | July 5, 1881 |
Cathedral | Sacred Heart Cathedral |
Patron saint | Sacred Heart |
Secular priests | 165 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Vinko Puljić |
Suffragans | Franjo Komarica, Pero Sudar |
Auxiliary Bishops | Pero Sudar |
Vicar General | Luka Tunjić |
Archdeacons |
The Very Rev. Ilija Miškić The Very Rev. Mato Zovkić Msgr. Bosiljko Rajić Msgr. Ante Meštrović |
Map | |
Archdiocese of Vrhbosna (blue) |
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Website | |
http://vrhbosanska-nadbiskupija.org |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its episcopal see is the city of Sarajevo (Vrhbosna), capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje is a suffragan of the Archdiocese.
Vrhbosna's cathedral is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Sarajevo. Cardinal Vinko Puljić currently serves as the archbishop of the archdiocese. Bishop Pero Sudar serves as the auxiliary bishop.
The Diocese of Bosnia, a Roman Catholic Diocese erected in the 11th century, existed in the territory of Bosnia before the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia, but then moved north, to Đakovo. The Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena instead became the main agency of Catholicism in Bosnia during the Ottoman period. This lasted until the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878. On July 5, 1881, Pope Leo XIII established the archdiocese again, with see in Sarajevo and subordinate dioceses in Banja Luka and Mostar.
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.