Franjo Komarica
| His Excellency Franjo Komarica |
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|---|---|
| Bishop of Banja Luka President of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| Province | Sarajevo |
| Diocese | Banja Luka |
| See | Banja Luka |
| Appointed | 15 May 1989 |
| Predecessor | Alfred Pichler |
| Other posts | President of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina President of Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 29 June 1972 by Alfred Pichler |
| Consecration | 6 January 1986 by John Paul II |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Franjo Komarica |
| Born | 3 February 1946 Novakovići, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post | Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka (and Titular Bishop of Satafis; 1985–1989) |
| Motto | Gospodin je moja snaga i moja pjesma (The Lord is my strength and my song) |
| Coat of arms | Franjo Komarica's coat of arms |
| Ordination history of Franjo Komarica | |
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Priestly ordination
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| Ordained by | Alfred Pichler (Banja Luka) |
| Date of ordination | 29 June 1972 |
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Episcopal consecration
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| Principal consecrator | Pope John Paul II |
| Co-consecrators | Agostino Cardinal Casaroli Bernardin Cardinal Gantin |
| Date of consecration | 6 January 1986 |
| Place of consecration | St. Peter's Basilica |
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Bishops consecrated by Franjo Komarica as principal consecrator
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| Marko Semren | 18 September 2010 |
| Styles of Franjo Komarica |
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| 200px | |
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Dr Franjo Komarica (born 3 February 1946) is a Bosnian Croat Roman Catholic prelate, the Bishop of Banja Luka and president of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Contents
Early life
One of eleven children, Komarica was born in Novakovići near Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Ivo and Ivka (née Marić) Komarica.[1] He finished elementary school in Banja Luka, then he attended the minor seminary in Zagreb (1961-63) and Đakovo (1963-65). After completing his compulsory military service he began theological studies in Ðakovo (1967-68), and continued studying at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Innsbruck (1968-72).[citation needed]
Priesthood
Komarica was ordained to the priesthood by Alfred Pichler on June 29, 1972[2] in Mariastern Abbey, near Banja Luka, and then continued special studies in Innsbruck, where he earned master's degree in 1973, and doctorate in liturgy in 1978.[citation needed]
Episcopal career
On 28 October 1985, Komarica was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka and Titular Bishop of Satafis in Africa by Pope John Paul II.[2] He received his episcopal consecration from John Paul II, with Agostino Casaroli and Bernardin Gantin serving as co-consecrators on 6 January 1986.[2] Until the retirement of Bishop Alfred Pichler Komarica served as Bishop's Vicar General. On 15 May 1989, he was appointed Bishop of Banja Luka and two months later, officially took the office.
Role during the Bosnian war
Just a few years after he took the office whole Bosnia and Herzegovina and particular the Diocese of Banja Luka faced with armed aggression. During the Bosnian war, Bishop Komarica's diocese fell under Serbian control. Over 220,000 Roman Catholics were forced to flee the area now known as Republika Srpska, at least 400 were killed, including seven priests and nun. In the Diocese of Banja Luka, 98% of churches and a third of other Church property was destroyed in the war.[3] "It is an ethnocide, or genocide", the bishop said in 1996, "because the presence of a nation, its culture and religion is being wiped out. All the recognisable signs of our existence are being destroyed: churches, monasteries, graveyards, monuments, names, ..."[3]
During the war, although under house arrest and could not move around, the Bishop reportedly tried to keep in contact with his diocese, sending out priests to bring him information from the various parishes while endeavouring to make contact with Bosnian Serbian officials. During and after the war, Komarica reportedly gave hospitality in his own residence to displaced Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic families, numbering more than 30 people at a time.[4]
At a conference of regarding the status of Herzeg-Bosnia on 31 January 2009, Komarica stated: "...[O]ne's birth place is the most holy site for every man. Many of you think that the Croatian people failed the test. While other peoples successfully or less successfully advocated for the realisation of their unquestionable right to their birth place, it seems the Croat people gave others their heads to carry them. Because of this the Croats have proved to be spineless and greatest cowards because they forgot their place of birth ... - I have ground my teeth to the gums pleading that politicians make it possible for people to return to their homes. We have dozens of people who have a court verdict that they can return to their homes, but that is not being made possible for them".[5]
After the war
After the Yugoslav wars, Komarica remained a supporter of preserving Croatian and Roman Catholic traditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[6]
In 2005, at the request of Komarica, the Missionaries of Charity, opened their first monastery in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 16 November 2005, Komarica founded the European Academy in Banja Luka.[7] Two months later, on 6 February 2006, he established the Center for Life and Family of Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina.[citation needed]
Awards
- Robert Schuman Medal (1997)
- Franz Werfel Human Rights Award (2005)
- 80px Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir (2007)[8] In 2004 he was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina profile of Bishop Komarica, bkbih.ba; accessed 13 August 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bishop seeks to heal wounds of Bosnian war, catholicherald.co.uk; accessed 13 August 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Bishop: Bosnian Croats Are Spineless and Cowards, dalje.com; accessed 13 August 2015.
- ↑ "Bosnia-Herzegovina: Thousands of Catholics want to return", members4.boardhost.com; accessed 13 August 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Franjo Komarica. |
- Official Biography of Bishop Komarica, biskupija-banjaluka.org; accessed 25 December 2015.(Croatian)
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Bishop of Satafis 1985–1989 |
Succeeded by Norberto Eugenio Conrado Martina |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Banja Luka 1989–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by | President of the BKBiH 2010-present |
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| President of the BKBiH 2002–2005 |
Succeeded by Vinko Puljić |
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| Bishops |
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| Auxiliary Bishops | ||
| Apostolic Administrators | ||
- Pages with broken file links
- Infobox person using a missing image
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2015
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Articles with Croatian-language external links
- Pages using S-rel template with ca parameter
- 1946 births
- People from Banja Luka
- Living people
- 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops
- 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops
- Bishops of Banja Luka
- Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests
- Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Yugoslav religious leaders
- Roman Catholic titular bishops
