Petrićevac is a part of the city of

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...

, entity of

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 ...

. Today, there are about 25,000 inhabitants in Petrićevac. The place is the location of a Catholic church of Saint Anthony and a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery in the 20th century. There was also an Orthodox Church made by Ilija Rankić. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, the Orthodox church was destroyed in 1941 by the Ustaša fascist organization. Miroslav Filipović originated from the Catholic monastery before he went on to join the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

during World War II, and commit numerous atrocities and war crimes over the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

in the region between 1942 and 1945. Filipović was defrocked after a February 1942 massacre of Serb civilians in the nearby villages (

Drakulić Drakulić is a Christian Serbian surname, derived from the Romanian words ''Dracul'' and ''Dracula'', and may refer to: * Saša Drakulić (born 1972), Serbian footballer * Slavenka Drakulić Slavenka Drakulić (born July 4, 1949) is a Croatian ...

and Motike). During the

war in Bosnia The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

in 1995, as the part of persecution and ethnic cleansing of the non-Serb population of the city of Banja Luka and the surrounding settlements, the Catholic Church and the monastery experienced the same fate as the 16 mosques of the city of Banja Luka which were destroyed by the Serbs already in 1993 (List of 16 destroyed mosques in Banja Luk

. The Catholic Church and the monastery were destroyed in revenge by the

Bosnian Serb Army The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...

, causing the death of one of the friars in the process. The reconstruction of the buildings started in 2003 after

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 ...

visited the site.

References

{{BanjaLuka-geo-stub Geography of Banja Luka