On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the martyrdom of one of the most distinguished Bosnian Franciscans from Livno, fra Lovro Karaula, the children’s book “The Story of the Brave Shepherd. Fra Lovro Karaula (1800–1875)” was presented at the Franciscan Museum and Gallery Gorica. The event was organized by fra Lovro’s native parish, the Parish of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ljubunčić.

The organizers emphasized that fra Lovro’s faith was not merely ornamental but active, and that all he achieved in terms of construction, religious work, and education shows he was a man ahead of his time. Even 150 years after fra Lovro’s death, his story continues to live on.

“In a time when it was not common, as it is today, to promote education and build churches, monasteries, and parish houses, fra Lovro, with his wisdom, still managed to obtain permits for all this from the Ottoman authorities. He first encouraged teaching children in parish offices, and later built the first school,” said Ana Papić, editor of the book. “We can rightly say this was the first public Catholic school, where, besides Catholic children, children of other faiths were also welcomed. That school has been restored, it is protected as a cultural monument and has been turned into an ethnographic exhibit,” added Jela Duvnjak, head of the ethnographic museum collection.

One of the two main elementary schools in Livno is named after this Franciscan, and now a book has come to light that presents fra Lovro through children’s eyes. The plan was to select the best works from submissions, but the opposite happened, says fra Mario Ledić, initiator of the anniversary commemoration of fra Lovro’s death.

“As the number of submissions kept growing, we simply decided that all of them are equally valuable and reflect the children’s enthusiasm to learn, depict, and create something in their own way,” said fra Mario. Thus, the book includes no less than 256 drawings by Livno elementary school students who, during the preparations for the anniversary, learned about fra Lovro, drew, wrote, and reflected on his life and legacy.

The Livno City Council has declared 2025 the Year of fra Lovro Karaula.

Večernji.ba

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