When St Joseph’s Catholic School Centre opened in Sarajevo in 1994 it was in the middle of a war zone. It was the first Catholic school in Bosnia and Herzegovina in almost 50 years and its goal was to educate children in a tolerant environment, beginning the task of stitching back together a society in tatters.

From the start, St Joseph’s welcomed children from different religions and ethnic groups. Orthodox Bosnian Serbs, Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croatians were to be educated alongside each other. It was a courageous move which has paid off. The war ended in 1995 and today not only is the school flourishing but six more Catholic school centres have opened, all with the same ethos.