The parish boundaries of Saint Mauro Abbot (opat), and the municipal boundaries of the district of Bosiljevo have changed over the course of their long histories. The Saint Mauro parish currently encompasses the settlements of Liplje, Rim, Zdihovo, which are not members of the municipality of Bosiljevo. The settlements Vodena Draga, Umoi, Spehari, Podumoi, Soline, Grabrk, Dani, Malik, Matese and Otok na Dobri fall within the municipality of Bosiljevo but are not within the parish boundaries of St. Mauro. Settlements that are common to both St. Mauro Abbot and the municipality of Bosiljevo include: Pribanjci, Sela, Jancani, Spahici, Milani, Johi, Glavica, Kasuni, Bosanci, Fratrovci, Dugace, Potok, Vrhova Gorica, Laslavici, Bec, Lisicina Gorica, Korenic Brdo, Kraljevo Selo, Skoblic Brdo, Biturajci, Resnik, Kuckovac, Bosiljevo, Varo, Krc, Hrsina, Strgari, Liposcaki, Rendulici, Podrebar and Novo Selo.

The church of St. Mauro Abbot of Bosiljevo was first referred to in the year 1334 by Ivan Archdeacon, who mentioned it in his manuscript describing the Zagreb Diocese. This makes it one of the oldest churches in Croatia. The Turk's onslaught between the years 1582 and 1583 left a path of death and destruction as they burned everything from Lesce to Pribanjci on the Kupa River. Many believed that the Church of St. Mauro fell victim to the devastation of these invasions yet it is uncertain exactly when. Old documents and manuscripts, would could support the claim are either lost, destroyed, or not yet found. In this same document, Ivan Archdeacon also writes about the existence of another church in the area, the Church of St. Mary in Gradac. The exact location of the church as described in this document in questionable, since it does specify whether the church was in Gradisce at Bosiljevo, Gradisce at Lesce or Gradisce at Lipa. The manuscript of Ivan Archdeacon is the only existing document describing the history of the parish in that area.

The next document  describing the history of the area deals with sixteenth century. This document mentions a castle that is known to have been in existence since the fifteenth century. The counts Frankopans built the second parish church, consecrated on the 23^rd of January, 1636. It is unknown if the church suffered the same destructive fate by the Turks during subsequent attacks on the region around Bosiljevo.

It is said that in the year 1531, Count Vuk Frankopan built a Dominican monastery alongside the church of St. Mary in Gradisce. This further supports speculation that the church of St. Mary was located Gradisce Beside Bosiljevo.

The Turks proved relentless in their attacks and raids in the area exposing the monastery  to the constant danger of potential destruction. Clearly the monastery was unable to function normally under such conditions. In order to save the Dominicans, Count Frankopan converted a part of his castle onto a monastery and allowed the Dominicans to use it as their own. This section of the castle became known as the "kloter" or monastery.

When the Turkish army destroyed the Paulin monastery of Saint Nikola on Mount Gvozd, Count Vuk Frankopan built another church with a monastery for the Paulins to take its place. It was consecrated to St. Vid. This Monastery for the Paulins at Radovac, is known today as the village of "Fratrovci". The foundation of the destroyed church and the monastery is still visible today.

In 1647 Viceroy Nikola Frankopan established a Croatian school in Bosiljevo. In his last will and testament, he donated the school to the churches of St. Mauro in Bosiljevo and St. Mary in Gradisce. It is very probable that the teachers in the school were the Franciscan Brothers from Radovac. It is for this reason that the area was later renamed from Radovac, to Fratrovci by the local people. Little is documented about the workings of the school until the year 1843 when it was relocated into the castle by its new holder, Marshal Count Nugent.

Until the middle of the seventeenth century, the peoples religious needs were served by the common priests called "Glagolasi". There were so-named because they served masses in the ancient Slavic language of "glogolica". The old documents name the following "Glagolase" priests of Bosiljevo with the approximate dates they served.

The first priests to serve masses in Latin appeared in Bosiljevo after being educated in the newly established Jesuit school in Zagreb. These priests were:

In 1674, the parish of St. Mauro instituted record books documenting christening, marriages and deaths, further substantiating it as one of the oldest churches in Croatia. In 1876 this very old and very small parish church was torn down. Its foundation was used in the construction of the church of St. Mauro Abbot. It took seven years to complete the construction. During that time, church services were held in the chapel of Saint Anne. Located within the castle walls. the new parish church of St. Mauro Abbot was consecrated on the 26^th of June 1903, by Bishop Dr. Antun Bauer. The Bells were hung on June 8^th 1923.

The Restoration of St. Mauro Abbot Parish, 1989-1999

The parishioners, the priests and the municipality of Bosiljevo are paying special attention to the restoration of the old St. Mauro church. It has not been an easy task. The parish of St. Mauro encompasses a very large area and there are many other religious objects also in need of repair and preservation. The restoration project seemed insurmountable at first, but the efforts have been crowned by success. Thanks to the donations and hard work by the parishioners and the local municipal government during the last decade the following has been achieved:

In the budget for next year, money is put aside for the reconstruction of the whole church facade.

Other religious objects of concern to the parish are:

Thanks to the donations by Justine Bergman, the chapel was constructed at the entrance to Bosiljevo and consecrated to St. Mary Queen of Peace. Thanks also to Ivan Becic, who constructed the chapel at Bec and consecrated to Assumption of Virgin Mary. The parish of Bosiljevo donated a statue of St. Mary as a memento to all Croatian soldiers, dead and alive, defenders of our beautiful homeland. All crucifixes of the parish are now restored. The parish rectory was completely renovated. New concrete stairs and a basement floor was poured. The interior of the refractory was also freshly painted and wooden interior structure repaired. In addition, a new roof was constructed and a new central heating system installed. The adjacent also has  new roof installed.

Thanks go out to every person who took part in the completion of this enormous project. We hope that others will follow their example and join in this wonderful project of restoring our religious treasures. By doing this it will fulfill what the Pope said a thousand years ago, that the Croatian people were always "Ante murale Christianitatis" or " the bulwark of Christianity".

May God bless you all and May Virgin Mary, mother of God pray for you and your intentions.

Ivan Crnek

Parish Priest

47251 Bosiljevo

Croatia, Europe