Bazilije Stjepan Pandžić (30 January 1918 – 16 April 2019) was a Bosnian-Croat historian, archivist and orientalist. He entered the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

in 1935 and was ordained for a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

in 1941. From 1947 to 1985 he was the general archivist and analyst of the Franciscan Order in Rome. In 1958 he was elected vice-president of the International Association of Church Archives. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in January 2018, and in April 2019, died at the age of 101.

Biography

Pandžić was born on January 30, 1918, in Drinovci, district

Ljubuški Ljubuški is a city in the West Herzegovina Canton, a federal unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravica (waterfall), Kravica cascades lie within the city, near the settlement of Studenci, ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then still part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, into

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croats. He lived in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. He finished

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in his hometown in 1929, high school in

Široki Brijeg Široki Brijeg () is a city and the regional capital of West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. the town itself had a population of 6,149 and the municipality of 28,929. Name ...

in 1938, entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

(OFM) in Humac. He began his

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

studies in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

, and he was ordained to the priesthood in 1941. In 1942 he continued his studies in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and earned his licentiate in 1943. At the Pontifical Antonianum University he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in 1945 with a thesis on the history of the Trebinje-Mrkan Diocese (''De dioecese tribuniensi et mercanensi''). In 1947 he studied archive science,

paleography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...

and

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

at the Vatican School (associated to Vatican archives), acquiring the title paleographus et archivarius. At the Roman State University (La Sapienza), Department of

Islamic Science Science in the medieval Islamic world was the science developed and practised during the Islamic Golden Age under the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad, the Umayyads of Córdoba, the Abbadids of Seville, the Samanids, the Ziyarids and the Buyi ...

s (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and Turkish), he earned his doctorate in philosophy in 1951. He wanted to do research in the Ottoman archives in Istanbul on the history of Bosnia, Herzegovina,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

. However, in 1947 he was appointed to the position of the general service registrar (archivist) of the Franciscan Order (OFM) in Rome, a position which he held up to 1985. In the function of archivist he participated in international conferences in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, etc. and co-operated in the publications of their

journals A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

. He was also elected to administrative positions in professional associations. In his book ''Archivistica ecclesiastica'' which was published by the Vatican's archives in 1967, he summarized his experiences as an archivist. His entire professional life was dedicated to research in the various Vatican archives. He published twenty-one scientific books and the three books of memoirs, a large number of scholarly papers, and hundreds of magazine articles. He wrote mainly in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, Croatian and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and occasionally in English,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. Besides in his homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pandžić's works are published internationally, in various countries including

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. For a general history of the Franciscan Order the two most important, monumental volumes are ''Annales Minorum'', i. e. a continuation of the series which the Irish Franciscan friar Lucas Wadding had started in the 17th century. For the study of the history of missions within the series ''Historia missionum Ordinis Fratrum Minorum'' he was responsible for the 4th Volume: Regiones Proximi Orientis et Paeninsulae Balcanicae in 1974. As an expert of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

he worked under several

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

s. He issued three so-called "positions" (positiones), i.e., historical-critical editions of the life and work of individuals to be canonized. His first one was on Nicholas Tavelić in 1961 which resulted in

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

’s

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

of Nicholas Tavelić in 1970. Another positio in 1970 brought forth critical source material about the life of Beatrice de Silva, of Spanish origin. The third in 1983 concerned the

Franciscan Liberatus Weiss and companions. Bazilije Pandžić was one of the founders and editors of the publishing house ZIRAL in 1970. While in exile 70 books were published before moving in 1991 to Mostar. Bazilije Pandžić was the co-founder of the Croatian Historical Institute in Rome. While being in

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

, he published

newspaper article An article or piece is a written work published in a print or electronic medium, for the propagation of news, research results, academic analysis or debate. News A news article discusses current or recent news of either general interest (i.e ...

s in the ''Croatian Catholic Messenger'' and ''Croatian Almanac of Chicago''. After his return to the homeland he participated in various

scientific conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic or scientific journals a ...

s and contributed to journals such as ''Nova et vetera'', ''Bosna franciscana'', ''Herzegovina franciscana'', ''Kršni zavičaj'', '' Naša ognjišta'', ''Vrutak'', etc. Since 1995 he lived in Zagreb where he continued his scholarly research. He published several works, including the three-volume ''Acta Franciscana Hercegovinae'' in 2003 and 2009, and ''Herzegovinian Franciscans: Seven centuries with the people'' in 2001. His collected, scientific works, amount to about 10,000 pages, including 24 monographs. After the publication of the collected works he published two more books: the second, enlarged edition of the comprehensive work Herzegovinian Franciscans,Bazilije Pandžić: ''Hercegovački franjevci: Sedam stoljeća s narodom.'' Mostar, 2011. and a book of fundamental-theological reflections titled ''U susret Bogu'' (Towards God; Zagreb, 2011).

Works

Bazilije Stjepan Pandžić has published 24 books and a multitude of scientific papers in different languages. Following is a list of his monographs. The list of all his published works up to 2010 is in the making (in PDF format).

Works in Croatian

* Dominik Mandić, Rasprave i prilozi iz starije hrvatske povijesti. Bazilije Pandžić (Priredio, zajedno s fra Dionizijem Lasićem). Rim 1963. * Životopis fra Dominika Mandića. Izdanje ZIRAL knjiga 64, Sabrana djela Dominika Mandića, vol. 12. Bazilije Pandžić. Chicago 1994. * Hercegovački franjevci. Sedam stoljeća s narodom. Bazilije Pandžić. Mostar-Zagreb: ZIRAL 2001. * Svjetlo na krovu Afrike. Mučenici fra Liberat Weiss i njegova subraća (3 ožujka 1716). Izdanje Teovizija, Bazilije Pandžić. Zagreb 2003. * Acta Franciscana Hercegovinae, svezak II (1700–1849). Bazilije Pandžić. Mostar-Zagreb 2003. * Acta Franciscana Hercegovinae, svezak III (1850–1892). Bazilije Pandžić. Mostar-Zagreb 2003. * Maksimirska razmišljanja. Bazilije Pandžić. Zagreb 2004. * Kraljevi i gradovi. Crtice iz hrvatske povijesti. Bazilije Pandžić. Zagreb: Tusculanae editiones. * Acta Franciscana Hercegovinae, 1206–1699. sv. I.. Sabrao i za tisak pripremio Dominik Mandić, novo izdanje priredio i nadopunio Bazilije S. Pandžić. Mostar/Zagreb: ZIRAL. 2009. * Priredio (zajedno s fra Dionizijem Lasićem): Dominik Mandić, Rasprave i prilozi iz starije hrvatske povijesti. Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1963, drugo izdanje Zagreb 2009. * Tragovi jednog života. Bazilije Pandžić. Zagreb 2009. * Hercegovački franjevci. Sedam stoljeća s narodom. Bazilije Pandžić. Mostar-Zagreb: ZIRAL; drugo, prošireno izdanje 2011.

Works in Latin

* Annales Minorum, vol. XXXI (1661–1670). Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1956. * De dioecesi tribuniensi et mercanensi, u Studia Antoniana, vol. 12. Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1959. * Sacra Rituum Congregatio, Sectio historica, n. 12: Sebenicen. Declarationis martyrii B. Nicolai Tavelić sacerdotis professi Ordinis Fratrum Minorum in odium fidei, ut fertur, in civitate Ierusalem interfecti (+1391), Positio super martyrio ex officio concinnata. Bazilije Pandžić. Typis Polyglotis Vaticanis 1961. * Annales Minorum, vol. XXXII (1671–1680). Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1964. * Sacra Congregatio pro causis Sanctorum, Officium Historicum n. 6: Toletana Canonizationis Beatricis de Silva Fundatricis Monialium Franciscalium a Santissima Conceptione († c. 1492), Positio super vita et virtutibus ex officio concinnata. Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1970. * Historia missionum Ordinis Fratrum Minorum, vol. IV. Regiones proximi Orientis et paeninsulae Balcanicae. Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1974. * Sacra Congregatio pro causis sanctorum, Officium historicum, n. 108: Viennen. Beatificationis seu declarationis martyrii servi Dei et 2 sociorum O. F. M. in odium fidei, uti fertur, anno 1716 in Aethiopia occisorum Positio super martyrio ex officio concinnata. Bazilije Pandžić. Rim 1983.

Works in Italian

* Archivistica ecclesiastica, Pontificia commissione per gli archivi ecclesiastici, vol. III. S. Duca e Bazilije Pandžić. Città del Vaticano 1967.

Works in German

* Sehnsucht nach Äthiopien. Bazilije Pandžić (O.F.M.) und P. Ludwig Raber (O.F.M.). Mödling 1988. * Juraj Dragišić und Johannes Reuchlin, u Georgius Benignus (Juraj Dragišić), Defensio praestantissimi viri Joannis Reuchlin. Nachdruck und Kommentar. E. v. Erdmann-Pandžić und Bazilije Pandžić. Bamberg 1989. * Bosna Argentina. Studien zur Geschichte des Franziskanerordens in Bosnien und der Herzegowina. Bazilije Pandžić. Köln, Waimar, Wien: Böhlau Verlag.

Works in English

* A review of Croatian History. Bazilije Pandžić. Chicago 1954.

Literature

* *

References

External links

''Fra Bazilije proslavio 97. rođendan!'', fra3.net, 2015-01-30
(Croatian).
''Hercegovac 40 godina čuva tajne Vatikana'', vecernji.ba, 2011-01-23
(Croatian). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pandžić, Bazilije 1918 births 2019 deaths 20th-century writers in Latin 21st-century writers in Latin 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina historians Croat writers from Bosnia and Herzegovina Franciscans of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests Bosnia and Herzegovina orientalists Bosnia and Herzegovina archivists Bosnia and Herzegovina men centenarians Historians of Franciscan history 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests