Source:
https://www.svjetlorijeci.ba/novosti/gu ... qNEnZJHVFITranslation courtesy of Google...
Guča Gora a noble land
Just as St. Francis of Assisi once marked and permeated Assisi and the surrounding places with his personality and life, so his brothers throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina carried and continue to spread his spirituality and zeal. When you follow in the footsteps of the Franciscan Brothers in Bosna Srebrena, then you have certainly set out on a pilgrimage with a Franciscan soul filled with an authentic and living Gospel that encourages the faithful to be people of the Gospel of Christ. Such people live and witness the faith together with their Franciscans in Guča Gora for years, which we will not be mistaken if we say that it is Bosnian Assisi.
Nikolina Marcic
After each war, people and customs mix in different places around the world, but in the depths of their hearts, everyone feels love for their own, for what is their own. It is as if the longing of a healthy national spirit breaks out from the depths of a person's interior: "Let us return to our own and our own!" Such a longing was experienced by Croatian Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina and those who know at least a little about the history of this people will admit that as a few who endured so much pain, suffering and misery, and with them their friars with whom they always rebuilt, repaired, spread the faith and preserved it to this day. Just as St. Francis of Assisi once marked and permeated Assisi and the surrounding places with his personality and life, so his brothers throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina carried and continue to spread his spirituality and zeal. When you follow in the footsteps of the Franciscan Brothers in Bosna Srebrena, then you have certainly set out on a pilgrimage with a Franciscan soul filled with an authentic and living Gospel that encourages the faithful to be people of the Gospel of Christ. Such people live and witness the faith together with their Franciscans in Guča Gora for years, which we will not be mistaken if we say that it is Bosnian Assisi. And the writer Anto Neimarević, a native of Guča Gora, proudly shouts: "Guča Goro, the village of the holy poor of Assisi", and the people still sing as before: "Guča Goro, noble land, her church is rocky…"
Guča Gora is located 9 km northeast of Travnik on the slopes of Vlašić at an altitude of 691 m, and the first mention of it dates back to 1425. In the 13th century, before the arrival of the Franciscans, there was a parish in the Lašva Valley based in Lašva, more precisely in the town of Putićevo-Dolac, which is believed to have been a small town at the time. During the next century, the Franciscans built a monastery there, which is also mentioned in the list of Bartol of Pisa in 1385/90. After the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia, the monastery was demolished at the end of the 15th century. According to available data from the 16th century, the parish of Lašvan had about twenty villages and about two thousand Catholics, but it did not have any churches nor did the priest have a permanent residence. In the following centuries, the number of Catholics decreased significantly, especially during the Vienna War (1683-1699), when a real exodus of the Croatian population from Bosnia and Herzegovina took place. It was not until the first half of the 18th century that the number increased, and this was an incentive for the Franciscans to revive pastoral activity in the Lasva area. At that time, they also built a house in Guča Gora, where they stayed in pastoral visits from the Fojnica monastery.
Above all trouble
The Franciscan house in Guča Gora was declared a hospice in 1757, then disappeared in a fire in 1764, and the registry books disappeared together with it. The new house, called the residence, was built in 1768 and housed three friars at the time. Soon the Franciscans bought land in Doc in which they built a house as the property of three monasteries: Fojnica, Kreševo and Kraljeva Sutjeska. Since Dolac had an advantage due to its proximity to Travnik, the friars founded a parish there in 1827, and Guča Gora became the local chaplaincy. It was not until 1840 that it was re-elevated to the rank of parish. With the efforts of Bishop Fr. Marijan Šunjić, a church and a large monastery were built in Guča Gora in the middle of the 19th century. Bishop Šunjić also gave the building a basic architectural idea. In 1859 the monastery received official recognition and has existed legally ever since.
Later history testifies to the difficult story of the monastery, but he rose above all troubles and proved to be stronger than them. Today it stands proudly as the only Bosnian monastery dedicated to St. Francis, and the parish and its inhabitants with the friars keep the light of faith. n this Bosnian Assisi, we first meet the guardian and pastor, Fr. Drago Pranješ, whom everyone knows as Čarlija. The Guardian takes us through a monastery built on the model of traditional monastery architecture with three residential wings that together with the church close the monastery cloister. After construction, it was the largest building in Bosnia. Apart from its size, it also stood out with its beauty, which touched Fr. Ljubo Hrgić to note: "58 pillars surrounded the cloister, a two-storey building, white and clean, and around a green garden, fields and groves." At the beginning, the monastery housed a lower Franciscan college, then from 1883 to 1900 the united Franciscan grammar school (probandat), then from 1911 to 1913 the novitiate, and from the beginning of the 20th century until the thirties classes were held for two upper grades of elementary school.
Both the monastery and the church suffered a tragic fate at the end of World War II. In February 1945, partisans set fire to both the monastery and the church. The fire engulfed everything of value in the monastery, including the archive, library and rich legacy of Bishop Šunjić, as well as works of art, church vestments, an altar and an organ. In 1946, Fr. Ivo Markovic covered the burning church, and part of the monastery was rebuilt on the foundations of the south wing in 1957-1959. years. In June 1993, the monastery was occupied by the BiH Army and turned into a command post for war operations and, together with the church, completely devastated. Intensive renovation began after the return in 1994 and to this day the church and monastery serve their original purpose. In recent years, the old part of the monastery has been renovated, which houses a museum, gallery and hall for pastoral work, as well as residential monastery space.
"Our parish was largely emptied during the war, and in 1994, when the now deceased Fr. Franjo Križanac returned to the monastery, there was no one. It was not until the following year that the inhabitants began to return and the parish to be rebuilt, but never in the number it once was, "said the guardian, Fr. Drago, and continued:" Even today, the number of believers who mostly go to the West is declining. Once upon a time, this parish numbered about four thousand believers. When the parish of Nova Bila was founded in 1974, two large villages of Guča Gora belonged to it: Pokrajčići and Ričice. Before the war in 1993, Guča Gora had about three thousand souls, and today only about 600.
The most vital part of the parish that instills hope is the twenty or so young people active in Frama, led by Fr. Nikola Kozina, the parish vicar. Fr. Nikola claims that there are few young people, but they are hardworking, dedicated and happy to participate in all parish events and affairs. It was on that day that a joint plum harvest was organized. The Guardian, Fr. Drago, pointed out that the peculiarity of these young people lies in the fact that they always stick together and are united thanks primarily to a good family upbringing, the Church and the friars.
A sense of closeness and belonging
The traditional connection of all the inhabitants of Guča Gora is recognizable: “People are attached to the Church and will gladly do, help, cooperate, without having to mention them, they remember themselves. For example, when the church needs to be arranged, the housewives determine one day when they will gather and do the work. They have a distinct sense of closeness, belonging and responsibility. It is important to note that even those who have gone abroad nurture and maintain a living connection with their home parish. Many who have moved to Travnik, Novi Travnik, Nova Bila and Vitez for work or living needs come to Mass in Guča Gora almost every Sunday, ”says Fr. Drago. Mrs. Janja Grganović, Marija Gazibarić and Danica Petrušić - convent housewives - are also happy that their work and activities can contribute to the life of the parish community.
In the monastery we also met Fr. Velimir Valjan, a retired professor of moral theology, and he is a member of the monastery fraternity and Fr. Ivo Markovic, professor of pastoral theology at the Franciscan Theology in Nedžarići. Stjepan Neimarević, a member of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province, Fr. Slavko Petrušić, pastor in Nova Bila, the current guardian in Guča Gora, Fr. Drago Pranješ, Fr. Ivo Kramar, who is the head of the monastery of Sts. Vlaho in Pridvorje and the chaplain of the Police Chaplaincy of St. Vlaho for the Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department and this year's young man, Fr. Nikola Neimarević, with the service of parish chaplain in Podmilačje. The nuns: the late Sr. Mihaela Rajić, Sr. Jeronima Pranješ, Sr. Sidonija Pranješ, Sr. Ljubica Volić and Sr. Ana Šarić are members of the Franciscan School Sisters of Christ the King.
The parish consists of several villages: at the highest altitude is Bukovica, then Radonjići, to which a good part of the faithful returned after the war; Machines with the lowest number of returnees; He fasts with a dozen families; Guca Gora is the largest settlement; Kosovo- Sarici to which no one returned; Banovići with a couple of families; Čifluk, Brankovac and Kula are three villages in which the population remained during the war. Guardian Fr. Drago says that the inhabitants of Guča Gora generally do not face financial difficulties, but the parish is hungry for young people. "There are few people and socializing and that fact affects a person's psyche and his health. There are a lot of singles. When the diaspora gathers in the summer or on holidays, the village suddenly comes to life. Unfortunately, there has been little socializing and joy this year due to the coronavirus. Believers are involved in the sacramental life of the parish, but old age is an obstacle for many to come to Mass on Sundays. ”
Poor rich man
Introducing us to the artistic contents, Fr. Drago says that the monastery remained an "orphan" because in the past two wars all that was valuable and important disappeared, including parish registers that were in some way links to the Middle Ages, archives, legacy of the three bishop, and during the Second World War the seal of the Lašva monastery from 1385 was lost and has not been found to this day. The library was mostly stolen. Only a small number of books were returned, but in a damaged condition. It was not until the 1970s that the artistic arrangement of the church began, for which Fr. Drago Kolar is especially credited. Since then, it has been renovated, built and arranged piece by piece until the present appearance of the monastery.
Thanks to the persistence of the friars and the faithful, this monastery is slowly but intensively being restored, so passing through it gives the impression that he is a "poor rich man" who in a short time managed to reach the cultural and artistic treasures. The curator of the museum, Fr. Velimir Valjan and Marinko Slipac from Novi Travnik, was particularly engaged in this field. A large number of paintings are on display in the Pinakothek, and others are waiting for their space.
The church of Guča Gora has a particularly prominent place in the sacred art of Bosnia. Thus, Fr. Drago Kolar initiated the arrangement of the church in accordance with the liturgical regulations. The presbytery, altar, baptistery and pulpit are made of stone. After that, the church was enriched with modern art: the Stations of the Cross and the figure of St. Francis were made in copper by sculptor Zdenko Grgić, the fresco of Our Lady of Sorrows and the mosaic Healing the Blind are by Ivo Dulčić, while the fresco of Christ the Almighty in the church presbytery is by Zlatko Kesser.
Coming to the cloister of the monastery, we notice the statue of St. Francis in life size made in 1973 by Ivan Križanac. Fr. Drago says that this statue is a kind of summary of all war events: “It is on this statue of St. Today, Francis sees how much trouble has befallen our people in this area. The statue was shot several times through the head, the fingers were torn off, the dove's head as well. The damaged statue was thrown and overgrown with grass. "
Despite everything, I got the impression that the Franciscans in Guča Gora and their faithful have remained faithful to their Christian and Franciscan identity to this day, growing in the strength of their smallness, which is able to attract those who thirst for simplicity, joy and peace in this Bosnian Assisi. our uncles say: "We wish everyone peace and welcome to Guča Gora."
