[2] Franciscan friars came to the region of Bosnia in 1291 to help oppose the dualistic Bogomil sect, also called Patarenes, and the non-Catholic "Bosnian Christians".
[4][5][6] This ferman is one of the oldest documents on religious freedom, providing independence and tolerance to people of a differing religion, belief, and race.
[8] The Franciscans opposed the efforts of local bishops to implement secular clergy in Bosnian-Herzegovinian parishes,[9] and even sought help from the Ottomans to push them out of the country.
[13] After the retreat of Ottoman rule in 1878, when Herzegovina became part of the empire of Austria-Hungary, Pope Leo XIII took steps to establish dioceses (1881) and appoint local bishops.
In the 1970s, friars in Herzegovina formed the "Mir i Dobro" association of priests, which encouraged popular support for local autonomy and opposition to diocesan parish takeovers.
The Franciscans felt endangered by the restoration of the regular church hierarchy, however, they showed loyalty to the new regime, represented by the Joint Minister of Finance Béni Kállay.
In return, the new government had a full understanding of the interests of the Franciscans and supported them in their dispute with the church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by Archbishop of Vrhbosna Josip Stadler.
[22] Čule's deputy, general vicar of the diocese of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje Mrkan Andrija Majić strongly attacked such state-sponsored clerical associations.
[23] Even though the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia strongly opposed such clerical associations, the Franciscans refused to bow even to the sharpest threats from the bishops.
[24] A 1975 decree by Pope Paul VI, Romanis Pontificibus, ordered that Franciscans withdraw from a majority of the parishes in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, retaining 30 and leaving 52 to the diocesan clergy.
In the 1990s, the cases of seven parishes remained unresolved, and the Holy See brought the leadership of the worldwide Franciscan Order into the process to see that Romanis Pontificibus would be implemented.
In spite of these limitations, the Franciscan Minister General declared in 1999 that he had implemented the decree, and in 2001 the province conducted its first Provincial Chapter and elections in decades.
[26] In 1997, the Hercegovacka Banka was founded "by several private companies and the Franciscan order, which controls the religious shrine in Medjugorje, a major source of income, both from pilgrims and from donations by Croats living abroad.