Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Encyclopedia
The Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (officially ) is a province of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church in Herzegovina
. Its headquarters are currently in Mostar
.
at Konjic
, Ljubuški
, Mostar
, Siroki Brijeg
, and Tomislavgrad
; and in Croatia
at Korčula
, Slano
, and Zagreb
, and priests of the province serve at 33 churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The province also conducts ministry for Croatian parishes and missions in Western Europe, the United States, and Canada, and conducts a mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo
.
in 1291 to help oppose the dualistic Bogomil
sect, also called Patarenes, and the non-Catholic "Bosnian Christians
". The first Franciscan vicariate in Bosnia was founded in 1339/40. In the 14th century, when the bishop of Bosnia (Vhrbosna) was forced to move to Djakovo (in modern-day Croatia), and the bishop of Trebinje moved to Dubrovnik, Franciscans took over a leadership role in the church in the region.
gained control of Bosnia in 1463 and Herzegovina in 1482. The Franciscan order was promised toleration by Sultan
Mehmed II
the Conqueror in 1463. Friar Anđeo Zvizdović of the Monastery in Fojnica
received the oath on 28 May 1463 at the camp of Milodraž.
Mehmed II's "ferman" (also Ahdnama or Ahd-Namah) on the Freedom of the Bosnian Franciscans stated:
This ferman is one of the oldest documents on religious freedom, providing independence and tolerance to people of a differing religion, belief, and race. It was republished by the Ministry of Culture of Turkey for the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the Ottoman State. The original edict is still kept in the Franciscan Catholic Monastery in Fojnica
. In 1971, the United Nations
published a translation of the document in all the official U.N. languages.
raised it to the status of a province (the Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) in 1892.
became part of the empire of Austria-Hungary
, Pope Leo XIII
took steps to establish dioceses (1881) and appoint local bishops.
As part of re-establishing normal church structures, the bishops worked to transfer parishes from the Franciscans to the diocesan clergy, but friars resisted, and in the 1940s, the two Franciscan provinces still held 63 of 79 parishes in the dioceses of Vrhbosna
and Mostar
. Resistance to diocesan clergy continued through the following decades, despite papal support for the diocesan bishops. In the 1970s, friars in Herzegovina formed the "Mir i Dobro" association of priests, which encouraged popular support for local autonomy and opposition to diocesan parish takeovers.
A 1975 decree by Pope Paul VI
, Romanis Pontificibus, ordered that Franciscans withdraw from a majority of the parishes in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno
, retaining 30 and leaving 52 to the diocesan clergy. Resistance continued, and in the 1980s the Franciscan Province held 40 parishes under the direction of 80 friars. The Holy See imposed restrictions on the Province, imposing a superior instead of allowing normal elections, and forbidding the admission of new candidates.
In the 1990s, the cases of seven parishes remained unresolved, and the Holy See brought the leadership of the worldwide Franciscan Order into the process to see that Romanis Pontificibus would be implemented. When visited by Franciscan superiors from Rome, most friars expressed their willingness to comply, and transfers of clergy were decreed in order to carry out the plan, but the newly appointed diocesan clergy were met with the physical occupation of churches, threats, and even some violence by occupiers. Several recalcitrant friars were expelled from the Order for disobedience but continued to engage in forbidden ministry.
In spite of these limitations, the Franciscan Minister General declared in 1999 that he had implemented the decree, and in 2001 the province conducted its first Provincial Chapter and elections in decades. In contrast, Bishop Ratko Peric
of Mostar-Duvno responded in 2002 that the decree had not yet been implemented.
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
. Its headquarters are currently in Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
.
Location
The Province includes monasteries in Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
at Konjic
Konjic
Konjic is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northern Herzegovina, around southwest of Sarajevo. It is a mountainous, heavily wooded area, and is above sea level. The municipality extends on both sides of the Neretva River. The town of Konjic, housed about a third...
, Ljubuški
Ljubuški
Ljubuški is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in thewestern part of Herzegovina.-1971:28.269 total* Croats - 26.198 * Muslims by nationality - 1.812 * Serbs - 118 * Yugoslavs - 49...
, Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
, Siroki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg
-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...
, and Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad
Tomislavgrad is a town and municipality in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in the Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Herzegovina region.- Name :...
; and in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
at Korčula
Korcula (town)
Korčula is a historic fortified town on the protected east coast of the island of Korčula in the Adriatic. It is geographically located at 42°57′N, 17°07′E.-Population:...
, Slano
Slano
Slano is a village in southern Croatia and a small harbour in the bay of the same name. It is located 27 km northwest of Dubrovnik. Farming, olive-growing, viniculture, fruit-growing, tobacco, herbs , fishing and tourism are the villages chief occupations. Slano lies on the main road...
, and Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, and priests of the province serve at 33 churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The province also conducts ministry for Croatian parishes and missions in Western Europe, the United States, and Canada, and conducts a mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
History
Franciscan friars came to the region of BosniaKingdom of Bosnia
The Kingdom of Bosnia or the Bosnian Kingdom was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Balkans, existing between 1377 and 1463.- Establishment :...
in 1291 to help oppose the dualistic Bogomil
Bogomilism
Bogomilism was a Gnostic religiopolitical sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Petar I in the 10th century...
sect, also called Patarenes, and the non-Catholic "Bosnian Christians
Bosnian Church
The Bosnian Church is historically thought to be an indigenous branch of the Bogomils that existed in Bosnia during the Middle Ages. Adherents of the church called themselves simply Krstjani...
". The first Franciscan vicariate in Bosnia was founded in 1339/40. In the 14th century, when the bishop of Bosnia (Vhrbosna) was forced to move to Djakovo (in modern-day Croatia), and the bishop of Trebinje moved to Dubrovnik, Franciscans took over a leadership role in the church in the region.
Under the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
gained control of Bosnia in 1463 and Herzegovina in 1482. The Franciscan order was promised toleration by Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
the Conqueror in 1463. Friar Anđeo Zvizdović of the Monastery in Fojnica
Fojnica
Fojnica is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located west of the capital Sarajevo. It lies in the valley of the Fojnička River, tributary of the river Bosna...
received the oath on 28 May 1463 at the camp of Milodraž.
Mehmed II's "ferman" (also Ahdnama or Ahd-Namah) on the Freedom of the Bosnian Franciscans stated:
This ferman is one of the oldest documents on religious freedom, providing independence and tolerance to people of a differing religion, belief, and race. It was republished by the Ministry of Culture of Turkey for the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the Ottoman State. The original edict is still kept in the Franciscan Catholic Monastery in Fojnica
Fojnica
Fojnica is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located west of the capital Sarajevo. It lies in the valley of the Fojnička River, tributary of the river Bosna...
. In 1971, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
published a translation of the document in all the official U.N. languages.
Founding of the province
Without a regular hierarchy of bishops in place, the diocesan clergy fell into decline and disappeared by the mid-19th century. To support the local church which was functioning without resident bishops, the Holy See founded an Apostolic Vicariate for Bosnia in 1735, and assigned Franciscans as apostolic vicars to direct it. The Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena was restructured to correspond to the borders of Ottoman rule in 1757; it split in 1846, when friars from the Kresevo monastery broke off to found the monastery at Siroki Brijeg. A separate Franciscan jurisdiction (a "custody") was established for Herzegovina in 1852. Pope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
raised it to the status of a province (the Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) in 1892.
Restoration of the hierarchy and conflict with the dioceses
After the retreat of Ottoman rule in 1878, when HerzegovinaHerzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
became part of the empire of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
took steps to establish dioceses (1881) and appoint local bishops.
As part of re-establishing normal church structures, the bishops worked to transfer parishes from the Franciscans to the diocesan clergy, but friars resisted, and in the 1940s, the two Franciscan provinces still held 63 of 79 parishes in the dioceses of Vrhbosna
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in eastern Bosnia. Its episcopal see is the city of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was elevated to an archdiocese on July 5, 1881. The Diocese of Vrhbosna is much older...
and Mostar
Roman Catholic Diocese of Mostar-Duvno
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mostar-Duvno is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church encompassing Herzegovina. The diocese, as well as the Franciscan Province, is centred in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed on July 5, 1881...
. Resistance to diocesan clergy continued through the following decades, despite papal support for the diocesan bishops. In the 1970s, friars in Herzegovina formed the "Mir i Dobro" association of priests, which encouraged popular support for local autonomy and opposition to diocesan parish takeovers.
A 1975 decree by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, Romanis Pontificibus, ordered that Franciscans withdraw from a majority of the parishes in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno
Roman Catholic Diocese of Mostar-Duvno
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mostar-Duvno is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church encompassing Herzegovina. The diocese, as well as the Franciscan Province, is centred in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed on July 5, 1881...
, retaining 30 and leaving 52 to the diocesan clergy. Resistance continued, and in the 1980s the Franciscan Province held 40 parishes under the direction of 80 friars. The Holy See imposed restrictions on the Province, imposing a superior instead of allowing normal elections, and forbidding the admission of new candidates.
In the 1990s, the cases of seven parishes remained unresolved, and the Holy See brought the leadership of the worldwide Franciscan Order into the process to see that Romanis Pontificibus would be implemented. When visited by Franciscan superiors from Rome, most friars expressed their willingness to comply, and transfers of clergy were decreed in order to carry out the plan, but the newly appointed diocesan clergy were met with the physical occupation of churches, threats, and even some violence by occupiers. Several recalcitrant friars were expelled from the Order for disobedience but continued to engage in forbidden ministry.
In spite of these limitations, the Franciscan Minister General declared in 1999 that he had implemented the decree, and in 2001 the province conducted its first Provincial Chapter and elections in decades. In contrast, Bishop Ratko Peric
Ratko Peric
Mons. Ratko Perić is the current Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan.Ratko Perić was born in the village of Tuk in the Rovišće municipality, near Bjelovar in Croatia. After studies in Zagreb and Rome, he was ordained priest on 29 June 1969 in Prisoje...
of Mostar-Duvno responded in 2002 that the decree had not yet been implemented.
See also
- Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, the other Franciscan province in Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...