The Martyrs of Drina Withesses of fidelity to God Sr. Antonija Fabjan, Sr. Krizina Bojanc, Sr. Jula Ivanisevic, The sisters of the Daughters of Divine Charity
were brought to Sarajevo in 1882 by their foundress Mother Franciska
Lechner at the request of Archbishop dr. Josip Stadler.
Their journey took four days and four nights from Pale to Gorazde over Romanija Mountain. They reached Gorazde on the afternoon of December 15, 1941 and were placed in a room on the second floor of the barracks. On that same evening, the unrestrained cetniks in a drunken state broke into their room and, with impure intentions, assaulted them. In order to defend their human dignity and consecrated chastity, the sisters broke loose from the hands of their aggressors and one by one jumped out through the window. The cetniks rushed to the front of the barracks and seeing that the sisters were hurt, killed them with their knives and threw their bodies into the River Drina where they were carried down stream some days later.
Servants of God Jula Ivanisevic, Berchmana Leidenix, Krizina Bojanc, Antonija Fabjan and Bernadeta Banja are extraordinary models of fidelity to God and potent love of those who are afflicted. We sincerely hope that their spilled blood will be the seed of new conscientious and responsible Christians, as well as new spiritual vocations-the focus of Christians and the spiritual vocations for a new time. They can also intercede for us in our needs, especially in life's trial and dangers. Those who have asked for their intercession are convinced that this is true. PRAYER _________________________________________________________________________ Persons whose prayers are answered through the intercession of these servants of God or who receive some special grace are kindly requested to inform us at one of the following addresses: Postulatura kauze: S.M. Jule Ivanisevic i susestara, Ivana Cankara 16, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Provincijalat: Druzbe Kceri Bozije Ljubavi, Nova Ves 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia |
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In 1911, at Pale near Sarajevo, they opened their convent called
Saint Mary's Home. Originally destined as an oasis for recovering
sick sisters who were teachers at saint Joseph Institute in Sarajevo,
saint Mary's Home developed into a very fine convalescent center
known for its good deeds toward anyone in need who knocked at
its door, especially the neighbouring Orthodox residents. This
is why it was named the 'hospice for poor people'.
In
the war year of 1941 the following sisters were sent by their
superiors to serve at the Pale convent: Sr. M. Jula Ivanisevic
(ethnic Croat, born in 1893) as superior of the community, Sr.
M. Berchmana Leidenix (Austrian, born in 1865), Sr.
M. Krizina Bojanc (Slovene, born in 1885), Sr.
M. Antonija Fabjan (Slovene, born in 1907) and Sr.
M. Bernadeta Banja (Hungarian, born in 1912). Through
their life and work the sisters witnessed to effective Christian
charity in the spirit of their Congregation.With self-abnegation
they served the sick and magnanimously gave bread to the orphans
of the nearby state-run home, making no distinctions according
to religious or ethnic affiliation. They also helped the poor
and the beggars who came down from Romanija Mountain. Despite
all this, Serbian fighters called 'cetnics' broke into the convent
on December 11, 1941, looted the house, and burned it down. They
took the five sisters against their will and forced them to walk
in the direction of Gorazde.
Their
'way of the cross' began in freezing temperatures under snowy
conditions without proper winter clothing. Their first stop was
the village of Careve Vode, before moving on to Sjetlina, where
the 76 year old Sister Berchmana, exhausted from the forced march
and all the events, was separated from the group and forced to
remain behind. Sisters Jula, Krizina, Antonija and Bernadeta were
then forced onward to Gorazde. 
Sister
Berchmana remained at Sjetlina for about ten days where she recovered
significantly. She was told that she would join the other sisters
at Gorazde but the others had already been killed. Two cetniks
put her in their sleigh pretending to take her to Gorazde. Upon
their return, the driver told the villagers that the sister had
safely joined the other sisters, while one of them had her rosary
around his neck. According to a written statement, she was killed
on December 23, 1941.
Sister
Jula, Berchmana, Krizina, Antonija and Bernadeta, known as 'the
martyrs of Drina', were missionaries who served their God by assisting
the sick and poor of the suffering population of Eastern Bosnia.
They confirmed their fidelity to God by spilling their blood.
The fame of their martyr's death has been spread far and wide.
On December 4, 1999, the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko
Puljic, after having been granted the necessary permission from
the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, issued his Decree
of Inauguration of Diocesan Process of their beatification. We
should all pray for the beatification of the Servants of God Maria
Jula Ivanisevic and her co-sisters. Their beatification will not
only be an official acknowledgment of their martyrdom but it will
also foster spiritual values, for which they lived and gave their
lives.