The Bishop of Banja Luka Monseigneur Franjo Komarica held on Wednesday the holy mass at the Catholic cemetery in Bosanski Petrovac on the holy day of Saint Peter and Paul, which was the first mass held in this town after full 75 years, more precise after the year 1941, when the parson of Drvar – Petrovac Don Waldemar Maximilian Nestor was killed in the Second World War and Catholics and the Catholic Church disappeared from Bosanski Petrovac and the surrounding area.
An occasion for the mass was the 110th anniversary of the founding of the parish Bosanski Petrovac – Drvar (1906-2016), the 105th anniversary of the establishment of the Catholic cemetery in Bosanski Petrovac (1911-2016), and the 75th anniversary of the killing of the Catholics in this area (1941-2016). Along with the bishop Komarica, the mass was also held by the host pastor of Drvar – Petrovac don Davor Klečina. About one hundred Catholic believers from Bihać, Drvar, Banja Luka, Bosansko Grahovo, Livno and Hannover (Germany). The mass was attended by political representatives of Croats from the Una-Sana Canton, officials of HDZ BiH and HDZ 1990 Franjo Jurić and Mladen Šantić, while the delegation of the Livno Canton was held by Draško Brnić, Director of “Hercegbosanske šume” Kupres.
Komarica said that the parish church of Saint Peter, after which Petrovac was named, was built in 1897 in the city center across the present building of the municipality and that it was demolished in 1949, four years after the end of the Second World War, upon the order by the former republican communist authorities. In his sermon, the bishop Komarica highlighted that it is the duty of Christians to preserve the pure memory of their past, without encouraging hatred and revenge, but by promoting forgiving, peace and coexistence. He invited all believers to follow the Christ’s path and build the civilization of love and life.
The bishop thanked all non-Catholic citizens of Bosanski Petrovac for their endeavors to landscape and fence in the Catholic cemetery in that town after so many years, asking the municipal representatives to convey gratitude to the Mayor Hujić, along with the desire to enable the construction of one smaller church where Catholics of Bosanski Petrovac could perform their religious rites.
The Catholic cemetery in Bosanski Petrovac has been devastated and neglected for years and the majority of the tombstones were demolished. With generous support by the Mayor of the Municipality, the cemetery was thoroughly cleaned and landscaped last year, and it was fenced in recently. Plans for the near future include the placement of a cross at the site where a cross used to be and that was demolished in the last war. Also planned is the restoration of some old, damaged monuments, such as the monument to the prominent doctor of Petrovac, Nikola Turić, who lived for full 113 years, from 1808 until 1921.
(Source: klix.ba/photo: laudato.hr)
