Roman Catholic Monasteries

[Djamila]

When one thinks of a Christian monastery, at least in Europe, one of thinks of the Orthodox Christian faith. And rightly so, given the impressive number and even more impressive beauty of Orthodox Christian monasteries in Europe.

However, there are also Roman Catholic monasteries.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are 26 officially recognized Roman Catholic monasteries they receive all the self-government and included rights afford to such institutions. (Compare this to 4 Muslim Sufi shrines, the only type of Islamic monasteries to request and receive such privileges).

Among the most beautiful, easily recognized, and well known Roman Catholic monasteries is the Franciscan Monastery of Fojnica.

Fojnica is a predominantly Muslim town in Central Bosnia that has a long history of Christian, and following the schism, Roman Catholic influence. There has been a monastery of some sort in Fojnica since the early 1200s, with the current manifestation of this monastery dating back itself several centuries.

At Roman Catholic monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the focus is simply on living a good life according to what they believe are the teachines of God (which differ significantly from, of course, Bosnian Muslims but also from Roman Catholics outside the monastery walls).

They do not attempt to convert others, although they do carry out much charity work in the Roman Catholic community. They do not seek attention, although they graciously welcome tourists and other visitors.

They exist only as a refuge for those Roman Catholics who believe living the lives of monks - both male and female - is God's way.

Here's a little peek at Fojnica and its Roman Catholic monastery (click the thumbnails for a larger image).

A postcard of Fojnica from 1984, when Sarajevo hosted the Olympic Games:

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A general view of the town of Fojnica:

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An exterior view of the Monastery:

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An interior view of the Monastery:

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[Djamila]

Another attribute of Roman Catholic Monasteries is their isolation. Because these Roman Catholics believe what they do, they often prefer to be separated from the main Bosnian population, in particular other Roman Catholics.

One of the most isolated, and most beautiful, Roman Catholic Monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina is that of Kraljeva Sutjeska. It is located high in the mountains of central Bosnia and is quite an impressive sight.

Coming to the monastery from the town of the same name, you really don't expect to see much and then this absolutely enormous Monastery just appears from between the folds of the mountain near the peak.

The hills of central Bosnia:

And then, suddenly:
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[Quiddity]

Wow! Not only is the Monastery but Bosnia is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Are Roman Catholics a minority in Bosnia?

 

[Djamila]

Yes, Roman Catholics are the smallest of the three major groups, Victor. They account for about 17% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's population.

However, there are regional variations. Roman Catholics account for 60-90% of the population in most areas of western Herzegovina, and less than 4% of the population in central Bosnia.

 

[Quiddity]

Yes, Roman Catholics are the smallest of the three major groups, Victor. They account for about 17% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's population.

However, there are regional variations. Roman Catholics account for 60-90% of the population in most areas of western Herzegovina, and less than 4% of the population in central Bosnia.

Gotcha. Is this pretty accurate?

Blue - Roman Catholic
Green - Muslim
Red - Orthodox Christian

 

[Djamila]

No, it's completely different - and to tell you the truth, it was even when these horribly inaccurate maps were made, Victor.

This map doesn't reveal the population of these districts, firsly. If you added up all of the green, "Muslim" areas - they would account for more than 90% of Bosnia's population - which is impossible.

But the vague ideas of this map - Roman Catholics dominant in western Herzegovina, Muslims dominant in central Bosnia, and Orthodox Christians dominant in northern Bosnia are correct.

This map was greatly changed during the war. Everything inside the white line became completely Orthodox Christian, and the Roman Catholic/Muslim populations everywhere else polarized. But this has relaxed. Much of eastern Bosnia has a Muslim majority again and the Roman Catholic dominance in Posavina (the thin blue strip at the top) has been restored.

 

[Quiddity]

Gracias senora.

 

[Djamila]

It's also important to note, Victor... these statistics include rural areas. Now, take for example Livno in the western portion of this map. Livno has four mosques, and one Roman Catholic church - yet its the largest city in a district where Croats make up 94% of the population.

Look at Jajce, in Central Bosnia. It is listed as a Muslim area but Jajce - the city - is at least 80% Roman Catholic.

So you end up with this unusual dynamic. Most Bosnians don't know, and don't care, what the religious composition of Hickville, 10 km from Jajce is. They know Jajce is a predominantly Catholic town, and when people think of Jajce district - that's what comes to mind.

 

[Djamila]

And a few pictures of the most famous Roman Catholic shrine in all of the Balkans.

Medugorje is a town in central Herzegovina. Its name comes from Medu (In between) and Gorje (Hills), and it was in between these hills that the Virgin Mary has been sighted for the past 25 years.

More than 30 million Roman Catholic pilgrims have made their way to Medugorje since that time, even during the war - when tens of thousands risked their lives to do so.

The sign welcoming highway traffic to Medugorje, riddled with bullet holes from the war:

And here are some views of the site:

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[James the Persian]

Djamila,

I'd say that in western Europe when people think of monasteries they think of RC, not Orthodox. In the east, though, you're probably right as we have far more there than the RCs do (understandably). I frequently have to explain to other westerners just how different our monasteries are from RC ones.

I suspect we actually have far more monasteries in Europe in comparison to the size of population, than the RCs do (we Romanians even have one in Britain and there are at least two Russian and one Greek monastery here as well and we've got a very small number of Orthodox in the country), but I'm not certain as this is a personal impression rather than anything backed up by data. It would be interesting to find out, though. I'm not sure that monasticism has still has the place in RC society that it once had but in Orthodoxy it still really is central to the whole faith.

James