Catholic Intelligence

Diocese of Banja Luka

Bania Lucen(sis)

The Diocese of Banja Luka is a Latin Church diocese in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, erected on July 5, 1881. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna (Sarajevo), with its see at the Cathedral of Saint Bonaventure, led by Bishop Željko Majić since 2024.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
1881
Latin
Bania Lucen(sis)
Patron
Saint Bonaventure
Annuario code
001000817

The see in figures

Catholics
24,229
Population
735,000
Catholic share
3.3%

of the people living within its bounds

Priests
34
Catholics per priest
713
Extent
16,457 km²
Catholics per km²
1.5

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Bishop
Željko Majić
Born
28 March 1963
Birthplace
Drinovci

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

Cathedral of Saint Bonaventure, Banja Luka stands in Banja Luka, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Vrhbosna

A suffragan of Archdiocese of Vrhbosna (Sarajevo).

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Western Bosnia is served by the Diocese of Banja Luka (Latin: Dioecesis Banialucensis; Croatian: Banjolučka biskupija), centred on the city of Banja Luka in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Erected on July 5, 1881 as the Diocese of Banjaluka, it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna; the name was changed to Banja Luka in 1985. Željko Majić became its bishop in 2024.

What is kept by invitation

The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.

The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.

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Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].