Blessing of the first rebuilt property of the Catholic Church in the territory under Serbian authority in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Banja Luka, September 29, 1997 (IKA) – At 11:00 a.m. this morning, September 29, Mass was celebrated on the occasion of the blessing of the newly rebuilt Franciscan monastery in Petričevac near Banja Luka. The Mass was conducted by the archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, together with the bishop of Banja Luka, Franjo Komarica, the provincial of the Bosnian Franciscans, Fra Petar An elovi and priests of the Banja Luka Diocese. At the beginning of the Mass, those assembled were greeted by the guardian of the Petričevac monastery, Fra Tomislav Jurić. Cardinal Puljić emphasized in his sermon that in rebuilding the monastery, love had triumphed, the love of God as well as the love of the Franciscans and their benefactors. After the Mass, the rebuilt monastery was blessed by Bishop Komarica together with the provincial, Fra Petar. This is the first property of the Catholic Church to be rebuilt since the war, not only in the Banja Luka Diocese but in the entire territory of the Serbian entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It should be mentioned that this is the fifth monastery in the history of this Franciscan parish to be rebuilt from scratch on this site. In May of 1995, this monastery was plundered by rebel Serbian forces and completely destroyed. The monastery was rebuilt this summer through the efforts of many benefactors, especially from Germany and Italy.