The Saint Joseph's Church () is a

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 ...

church in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. It was proclaimed a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2008. The initial design of St. Joseph's church by Karel Pařík was based on the design for a neo-Romanesque church given to Archbishop Ivan Šarić by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. Work began on the construction of church in 1936, and the building was consecrated on 31 March 1940. In plan the church is a triple-aisled basilica with transept. Below the sanctuary is a crypt containing the tomb of Archbishop Ivan Šarić. There are a further fifteen tombs in the south, west and east walls of the church. The church was painted by Josip Podolski in 1939, and the original stained glass windows were designed by Ivan Marinkocić. The stained glass at the west end and in the apse was destroyed by an explosion in 1945, but later restored. The high altar of St. Joseph and the terracotta Stations of the Cross were a gift from Pope Pius XII. The sculptor Franjo Rebhan carved the side altars and the tombs in the crypts. The church was damaged during the 1992–1995 war, after which it underwent structural repairs, with conservation and restoration work being carried out on the murals and stained glass.

References

Buildings and structures in Sarajevo Roman Catholic churches completed in 1939 National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic churches in Sarajevo 1939 establishments in Yugoslavia 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina {{BosniaHerzegovina-church-stub