Pavao Dragičević (1694 – 14 February 1773) was a

Bosnian Franciscan Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena (also ''Bosna Argentina''; officially la, Provincia OFM Exaltationis S. Crucis - Bosna Argentina) is a province of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their headquarters a ...

friar and bishop. Dragičević was born in Tješilo, a village near Fojnica in Ottoman Bosnia, and studied in present-day Italy. After the death of the first Bosnian apostolic vicar, Mato Delivić, Dragičević was nominated to the post by

Vicko Zmajević Vicko Zmajević (21 December 1670 – 12 September 1745) was the Roman Catholic archbishop of Bar and Primate of Serbia and also the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Zadar. Biography Zmajević was born in Perast, into the House of Zmajev ...

, Archbishop of Zadar. Pope Benedict XIV approved the nomination on 14 November 1740. He was appointed bishop of

Duvno Tomislavgrad (), also known by its former name Duvno (), is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It mainly covers an area of the historical and geographica ...

on 15 December and consecrated by Zmajević on 29 June 1741. Early in his vicariate, in 1741–1743, Dragičević made an extensive census of Catholic households in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he sent to the Archbishop of Zadar. The census records, for which he is best known, have survived and present a valuable insight into 18th-century demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1752, Bishop Dragičević requested that the prophet Elijah replace

George of Lydda Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

as patron saint of "Bosnian Kingdom". The reason for his plea to the Holy See is not clear. He may have believed Elijah to be more suitable because of his importance to all three main religious groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina –

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Muslims and

Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

. The Pope is said to have approved Dragičević's request with the remark that a wild nation deserved a wild patron. Neither the Bishop's letter nor the Pope's response have been made public by the Vatican Secret Archives. Bishop Dragičević's vicariate was marked with political instability in Bosnia Eyalet. Since the Ottomans victory over the invading Habsburg Empire at the

Battle of Banja Luka The Battle of Banja Luka ( tr, Banaluka Muharebesi, sh, Banjolučki boj) took place in Banja Luka, Ottoman Bosnia, on 4 August 1737, during the Austro-Russian-Turkish War. An Austrian army under Prince Joseph Hildberghausen was defeated, as ...

in 1737, Bosnian Muslims were becoming considerably less tolerant towards the Christians, but Dragičević was even more threatened by the ambitious

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

and Bosnian Orthodox clergy, who sought to expand their jurisdiction over the Catholics. In 1743, Dragičević was imprisoned in Fojnica, and his life was often in peril. He thus requested to be relieved of his duties in 1766, which was granted on 30 June. Succeeded by

Marijan Bogdanović Marijan is a male Croatian first name. The Macedonian version of this name is Marjan. Marijan is also a last name found in Croatia. People named Marijan *Marijan Beneš – Croatian boxer *Marijan Brkić Brk – Croatian musician *Marijan Brn ...

, Dragičević retired to the

Franciscan monastery in Fojnica Franciscan monastery of the Holy Spirit is a Bosnian Franciscan monastery in Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. History It was founded in 1668 and it includes a library of ca. 12,500 volumes, including 13 ''incunabula'' and 156 works written in ...

. Despite illness, he was forced to resume administration of the vicariate between Bogdanović's death in 1772 and the appointment of his successor. Dragičević died on 14 February 1773 and was buried in the Franciscan church in Fojnica.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragicevic, Pavao 1694 births 1793 deaths People from Fojnica Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Franciscans of the Franciscan Province of Bosnia Bishops of Duvno Apostolic vicars Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XIV 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Ottoman Empire Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic bishops