The
Diocese of Bosnia existed in Bosnia between the 11th and 15th centuries, and remained as a single title until 1773 when it was given to the bishop of
Syrmia. It is not known precisely when the Bosnian diocese was established. Based on a collection of historical documents
Provinciale Vetus, published in 1188, which mention it twice, once subordinated to the
Archdiocese of Split, and another time under the
Archdiocese of Ragusa, it is assumed that it came into existence between 1060 and 1075. During the 12th century, it was contested between those two archdioceses as well as another two, the
Archdiocese of Antivari and the
Archdiocese of Kalocsa. In 1244, an endowment of the parishes of
Đakovo and Blezna by King
Bela IV of Hungary listed the other parishes of the diocese, namely
Vrhbosna,
Neretva,
Lepenica, Vidgossa (
Viduša),
Mile (near today's
Visoko),
Lašva,
Uskoplje, Brod (near today's
Zenica), Borač (near today's
Rogatica). In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Bishops of Bosnia were mainly
Dominican missionaries who were sent in to combat the spread of the
Bosnian Church. At the turn of the 14th century, the
Franciscans also arrived with the same purpose, at first in
Usora and
Soli, at the request of
Stephen Dragutin of Serbia. The two orders engaged in a prolonged dispute over the control of the province, in which the Franciscans ultimately prevailed, yet the weakened diocese still succumbed to the
Ottoman conquest of Bosnia in 1463. During the Ottoman occupation, the bishop of Bosnia had no effective control over the territory of Bosnia, rather, the
Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena remained the primary vessel of Catholicism in the area. In 1735, the Holy See founded the Apostolic Vicariate for Bosnia, and assigned Franciscans as apostolic vicars to direct it, thereby formally ending the jurisdiction of this diocese over Bosnia. In 1773, On 5 July 1881, Pope
Leo XIII issued
Ex hac augusta Principis Apostolorum cathedra, a bull by which he restored the regular Church hierarchy in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. With the restoration, both vicariates, the
Bosnian (1735–1881) and the
Herzegovinian (1846–81) were abolished. The old Diocese of Bosnia was elevated as the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna. The pope subordinated to it three other dioceses: the newly established
Diocese of Banja Luka, the already existing
Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan (under the apostolic administration from the bishop of
Dubrovnik at the time) and the
Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, to which he added the title of
bishop of Duvno as well. The Diocese of Mostar-Duvno encompassed the territory of the Apostolic Vicariate of Herzegovina, which was abolished. The Apostolic Vicar of Bosnia
Paškal Vuičić was simply retired after the abolishment of the vicariate, while the Apostolic Vicar of Herzegovina
Paškal Buconjić was appointed Bishop of Mostar-Duvno.
Josip Stadler was appointed the Archbishop of Vrhbosna and Administrator of Banja Luka. The
Bosnian War, which resulted in the
Siege of Sarajevo on the archdiocese's home, gravely impacted the archdiocese. In the war's aftermath, repairs had to be completed to many damaged churches and chapels. The biggest struggle has been the exodus of
Croats, causing the Catholic population in the diocese to drop to less than half of what it was before the conflict. ==Ordinaries==