The Franciscan General in Hercegovina
By Višnja Spajić

In the vicinity of Međugorje, 62 years after they had been murdered, Fr Melhior Prlić, Fr Julijan Kožul, and Fr Zdenko Zubac were buried in the church in Široki Brijeg. They were interred in the same tomb where the remains of 18 Franciscans of the Hercegovinian Franciscan Province were placed in 1971, and who had been murdered in 1945 at the end of the World War II.

The Communist partisans killed 66 friars by mid-February of 1945, including the Head of the Hercegovinian Franciscan Province. The graves of the 36 friars are still unknown.

The three Franciscans mentioned above were identified after their remains had been found in a garden about 50 kilometres from Široki Brijeg in 2005.

˝I was moved when I saw the tears in the eyes of the populace,˝ said the Minister General of the Franciscan Order, Fr Jose Rodrigues Carballo, who led the burial.
˝This is a special day for Široki Brijeg. I know many members of your families were killed together with these 66 Franciscans. They are all a part of the many from the Book of Revelation. They are all the seeds that give plenty of fruit,˝ the General addressed the believers.
He thanked God for the grace of their testimony of faith.

˝Let their example enlighten our responsibility so as to avoid such events in the future. Let us therefore say by the weak voice of St. Francis and the strong voice of holy faith – no more war! No more innocent victims! No more blood! Let us want peace and strive for building peace. Peace is a delicate herb that we all have to cherish. Let the blood of these martyrs become the seed of peace in this tormented land. This country of Bosnia and Hercegovina has a right to peace, and the rulers of this country cannot close their eyes in front of this reality. The mighty of the world shall be called to responsibility for this, but we as well if we don’t perform our part. We cannot close our eyes while so many victims shout with their blood and tears,˝ said Fr Jose.

He called on the young to have their own Christian identity. He asked parents to transfer their faith enthusiastically to their children, and he asked the politicians never to be ashamed of their roots and this land.

˝When Jesus enters the life of a person, he takes nothing and gives all. Therefore I beg you – open your hearts for Christ, open your life for Christ, open your houses and families for the Gospel. Our bodily life can be taken, but not our spiritual one. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of new saints.''

In the end the General of the Franciscan Order expressed the hope that Hercegovina shall remain the land which Jesus will feel as His home.

The full article can be found on pages 16-17 of Vol 3
2007 issue.