Ecclesiastical province Sarajevo Parishes 153 Rite Roman Rite Phone +387 33 208-878 Archbishop Vinko Puljić | Metropolitan Sarajevo Denomination Roman Catholic Area 22,401 km² Country Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
 | ||
Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2010)
1,960,000
198,012 (10.1%) Address Kaptol 7, Sarajevo 71000, Bosnia and Herzegovina Similar Sacred Heart Cathedral, Saint Joseph's Church, Saint Anthony Catholic, Cathedral Church of the Nativit, Old Orthodox Church | ||
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.
Contents
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.
History
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.