Franjo Komarica

Franjo Komarica (born 3 February 1946) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Banja Luka from 1989 to 2023.

Early life One of eleven children, Komarica was born in Novakovići near Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Ivka and Ivo Komarica. 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).

Priesthood Komarica was ordained to the priesthood by Alfred Pichler on June 29, 1972 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.

Episcopal ministry On 28 October 1985, Komarica was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka and Titular Bishop of Satafis in Africa by Pope John Paul II. "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..."

After the war

After the Yugoslav wars, Komarica remained a supporter of preserving Croatian and Roman Catholic traditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2004 he was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. 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. Two months later, on 6 February 2006, he established the Center for Life and Family of Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On 8 December 2023, Pope Francis accepted his resignation and appointed Željko Majić as his successor.

Awards Pax Christi International Peace Award (1996) Robert Schuman Medal (1997) Laureates of the Europe prize (2002) Franz Werfel Human Rights Award (2005)