With the outbreak of World War II in Yugoslavia and the installation of the Nazi-backed Independent State of Croatia puppet state led by the Ustaše, the Bosnian Franciscans' relationship with the regime became complicated. Some Franciscans, such as Alojzije Mišić and others, opposed the Ustaše's genocide policies. Others such as Archbishop Šarić enthusiastically supported the regime, while some monks like Miroslav Filipović participated in the atrocities themselves. Several key Ustaše officials, like Andrija Artuković were educated at Franciscan parochial schools, mainly in Široki Brijeg. Instructions of the Superiors of the Franciscan order based in Rome issued in the summer of 1941 forbade Franciscan friars to participate in Ustaše activities, and the heads of the Bosnian sector believed in following these instructions. Still, the Franciscans of Bosnia and Herzegovina would play a leading role in the slaughter and forced conversions of Serbs with Sarajevo becoming a center of the Catholic conversion campaign.
