Alfred Pichler (18 December 1913 – 17 May 1992) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Banja Luka, the first bishop of Banja Luka who was

diocesan priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

and the first who was born on the territory of the Diocese of Banja Luka.

Early life

Alfred Pichler was born in Oštrelj near

Drvar Drvar (, ) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2013 census registered the municipality as having a population of 7,036. It is situated in western Bos ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, to Anton and Matilda (née Helk) Pichler. He had finished elementary school in

Šipovo Šipovo ( sr-cyrl, Шипово) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the southern part of the Bosanska Krajina region. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,293 inhabitants ...

and

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

where he also attended six years of gymnasium, then he went to the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

Travnik Travnik is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, west of Sarajevo. As of 201 ...

. He continued studying at the University of Catholic Theology in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

where he was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

by Ivan Šarić on 20 February 1937.

Priesthood

Pichler was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood on 13 March 1937 in the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Sarajevo. He first served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

in Banja Luka, and then as a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in Novi Martinac. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he had to escape from

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

to Bosanski Aleksandrovac. After the war ended, from May 1945 to March in 1946, he was situated with other Germans in a camp in Bosanski Aleksandrovac. He was administrator of parishes in Nova Topola, Bosanski Aleksandrovac and Mahovljani from the autumn 1946 until spring 1952. Communist authorities accused Pichler of "enemy propaganda" and imprisoned him until April 1954. After his release until the appointment of the bishop, he served as parish priest of Prnjavor.

Episcopal ministry

On 22 July 1959, Pichler was appointed Bishop of Banja Luka by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

from

Franjo Šeper Franjo Šeper (2 October 1905 – 30 December 1981) was a Croatian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1968 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. B ...

, with

Smiljan Franjo Čekada Smiljan () is a village in the mountainous region of Western Lika in Croatia. It is located northwest of Gospić, and fifteen kilometers from the Zagreb-Split highway; its population is 418 (2011). Smiljan is the birthplace of inventor and engi ...

and

Matija Zvekanović Matija is a South Slavic masculine and feminine given name, a variant of Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matija Ahacel (1779–1845), Carinthian Slovene philologist, publicist, and collector of folk songs * Matija Antun Relković ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

on 18 October 1959. During his episcopal service, Bishop Pichler left a deep mark and he specially devoted himself up to the upbringing and education of priests. Thus, during his ministry, 34 priests were ordained and three priests from his diocese became bishops (

Franjo Komarica Franjo Komarica (born 3 February 1946) is a Bosnian prelate of the Catholic Church, the Bishop emeritus of Banja Luka and president of the Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Early life One of eleven children, Komarica was born in N ...

Vinko Puljić Vinko Puljić (; born 8 September 1945) is a Bosnian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since 1994. He was the archbishop of Vrhbosna from 1991 to 2022. Early life and education The twelfth of thirteen children, Vinko Pulji� ...

and Severin Pernek). He established 9 new parishes: Ravska (1967), Dragalovci (1970), Mariastern (1973), Odžak-Čaić (1975), Raljaš (1977), Trn (1980), Budžak (1983) and Motike (1983). He participated in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

as a member of the Commission for the liturgy. Being the president of the Liturgical board of Yugoslavia he has greatly contributed the restoration of the Roman liturgy after the Council. Because he had cordial relationships with local Orthodox Christians, pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him member of the International Catholic-Orthodox episcopal commission. On 15 May 1989, he retired from the ministry and until his death remained bishop emeritus of Banja Luka. He died on 17 May 1992, and was buried two days later at the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Bibliography

*''Upoznajmo što činimo'', Sarajevo-Banja Luka, 1983 *''Da budemo sretni'', Mostar-Banja Luka, 1985

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pichler, Alfred 1913 births 1992 deaths People from Drvar Bishops of Banja Luka Participants in the Second Vatican Council Bishops appointed by Pope John XXIII Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops in Yugoslavia Bosnia and Herzegovina people of German descent