The Archbishopric of Sarajevo was founded in 1881.

The first archibishop was Josip Štadler. The cathedral, which took five years to build, was opened in 1889.

It was designed by Josip Vancaš (1859 – 1932) as a triple-aisled church in the electic manner, with neo-Gothic elements predominating.

The statue of the Hearth of Jesus at the tope of the portal is the work of a sculptor A. Hausmann of Vinenna. The relief on the tympanum of the main portal and the Pieta with two angles on the tymphonum of the portal in the sacristy were based on a design by a A.M.Seitz.

Cathedral, Sarajevo

The towers of the Cathedral house six bells from the Samasse workshop in Ljubljana. Pope Pius XI donated the great bell. Vancaš designed the stained-glass windows, pulpit and altars: the main altar dedicated to the Hearth of Jesus and other saints, the altar of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virigin Mary, a gift from the Emperor Franz Joseph, and the altar dedicated to SS, Cyril and Methodius.

The statues on the altars and the reliefs in the church are by the sculptor Dragan Morak, and the stonemasonry work and decorations in wood are by Ivan Novotny. The reliefs on the five panels of the pulpit parapet with figures of Jesus and the evangelists were modeled by the sculpture Franz Erler of Vienna. The organ was made in the 19th century style, with a classicist phonic layout. The drawings for the murals are by Alberto de Rohden.

Cathedral Square

The graves of Archbishop Josip Stadler (1843 – 1918) and his successor, Marko Alaupović, are located in the floor of the church, at the east end. Cardinal Vinko Puljić currently serves as the archbishop of the archdiocese.

Cathedral, Sarajevo, back side