According to the long-standing tradition, after the time for holy confession, the blessing of the faithful and the pilgrims, and the procession with the miraculous image of Our Lady of Olovo with the prayer of the rosary, the Holy Mass celebration began.

Along with Archbishop Vukšić, the following concelebrated: the provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, the custodian of the Olovo shrine, OFM Ilija Božić, and about 20 priests. The Eucharist also gathered a large number of pilgrims from the surrounding parishes, as well as from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to the start of the Holy Mass, those present were greeted and welcomed by the administrator of the sanctuary, OFM Ilija.

Then the provincial spoke and asked "who can gather her children better than a mother who loves them, and her children can feel that love". He then pointed out that "the mother here has her own name and her name is Gospa Olovska". He compared the construction work on the Olovo church to the need for "work" on the believer's soul and encouraged prayer for spiritual vocations.

Who are the servants of God?

In the appropriate homily, the title of which was The Servant of God, Mary and Joseph the worker, the dignity of work and the rights of workers, the archbishop asked that at the beginning of May "let us let their words and examples guide and inspire us". He then emphasized how Mary is recognized as a servant of God in Luke's Gospel when she directly calls herself by that name twice: "Here is the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word!" (Lk 1:38). He further interpreted the biblical readings about the Lord's servant Isaiah, whom "the Lord called in justice and took him firmly by the hand; he formed it and established it as a Covenant to the people and a light to the nations" (Isaiah 42:6-7). With an appropriate quote, he pointed out what the mission of the servant of God consists of and underlined that the name "servant of God" should be sought in the example of Jesus Christ.

In the second part of the sermon, he pointed out that May 1^st is the day when the entire civilized world emphasizes the value of human work and the dignity of workers. "A servant of God is anyone who does God's will, who thinks and does what God wants, who carries out God's plans and thus, as befits him, realizes his likeness to God", said the archbishop and, analysing the Book of Genesis, underlined how work is one of the signs of man's original condition, and the peak of the biblical teaching about work is the day of rest, which is the will of God.

In this spirit, regarding the dignity of workers and respect for their rights, he reiterated the teaching of the Catholic Church that society should provide man with the right to work worthy of man, from which arise obligations according to God's and human law.

In the end, he wished that "through the intercession of the servant of the Lord Mary, who faithfully carried out the will of God, and Saint Joseph the worker, the Lord Jesus, who respected human work and blessed it with his words and actions, make us all servants of God" .

Continuation of construction works in the sanctuary

Towards the end of the Holy Mass, the custodian of the shrine, OFM Ilija, thanked all pilgrims, especially from: Uskoplje, Bistrica, Skopaljska Gračanica, Bugojno, Sarajevo, Novi Šeher, Kraljeva Sutjeska, Vitez, Herzegovina… He also thanked the journalists for Holy Mass broadcast, police for security, the municipal administration and an anonymous family from Busovača who donated a new embroidered chasuble with the image of Our Lady of Olovo, which Archbishop Vukšić was the first to wear. He pointed out that many construction projects have been completed in the Olovo sanctuary, but also that there is still a lot of work to be done, and some contracts have already been signed and will start soon.

The liturgical celebration was animated by the seminary choir of Franciscan theology in Sarajevo.

At the end, beans prepared by members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina was arranged and handed out to all present.

Let's mention that the Eucharistic celebration was also broadcast live this year by Radio Bobovac Vareš, both on its airwaves and on the YouTube channel. The Holy Mass was also broadcast directly by Radio Marija BiH and other radio stations.