Pavao Dragičević

Pavao Dragičević (1694 – 14 February 1773) was a Bosnian Franciscan monk and bishop.

Dragičević was born in Tješilo, a village near Fojnica in Ottoman Bosnia, and studied in present-day Italy. After the death of the first Bosnian apostolic vicar, Mato Delivić, Dragičević was nominated to the post by Vicko Zmajević, Archbishop of Zadar. Pope Benedict XIV approved the nomination on 14 November 1740. He was appointed Bishop of Dium in Macedonia on 15 December and consecrated by Zmajević on 29 June 1741.

Early in his vicariate, in c. 1741–1743, Dragičević made an extensive census of Catholic households in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he sent to the Archbishop of Zadar. The census records, for which he is best known, have survived and present a valuable insight into 18th-century demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 1752, Bishop Dragičević requested that the prophet Elijah replace George of Lydda as patron saint of "Bosnian Kingdom". The reason for his plea to the Holy See is not clear. He may have believed Elijah to be more suitable because of his importance to all three main religious groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox Christians. The Pope is said to have approved Dragičević's request with the remark that a wild nation deserved a wild patron. Neither the Bishop's letter nor the Pope's response have been made public by the Vatican Secret Archives.

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