Archbishop of Vrhbosna cardinal Vinko Puljić concelebrated, as well as Archbishop of Zadar and President of HBK Msgr. Želimir Puljić, Apostolic Nuncio to BiH Msgr. Luigi Pezzuto, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Warden of Trebinje-Mrkan Msgr. Ratko Perić, Military bishop in BiH Msgr. Tomo Vukšić and about 40 priests, among whom were the delegates of the Diocese of Limburg and the rector of the cathedral Msgr. Ante Meštrović.

In the beginning, cardinal Puljić greeted everyone present and he reminded that card. Dziwisz as Secretary of St. John Paul II. is very connected to Sarajevo and the cathedral where the saint of our days prayed in 1997. Cardinal Dziwisz then thanked the attendees for the invitation to lead a Mass on such an important anniversary. He welcomed the Polish soldiers operating as part of the BiH peacekeeping mission and the Polish ambassador to BiH Jaroslaw Lindenberg.

 “We deeply experienced what you experienced during the war. It did not give the Holy Father peace, and he wished to visit Sarajevo to pray the Prince of Peace for the unfortunate land. We know that the wish of Pope John Paul II. for the visitation to Sarajevo in September 1994. failed. Everything was prepared but cancelled at the last minute. His physical absence then became a special form of spiritual presence. On the same day he was supposed to be in Sarajevo, he served a Mass in Castel Gandolfo and at that time he delivered a sermon in Croatian”, read Msgr. Jurišić.

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz spoke in Croatian that the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral reminds us that this holy home has become a place of God's word and a place where God wants to meet the people and address his conscience and heart.

Cardinal Puljić thanked the guest from Poland for coming to Sarajevo again and donated him a piece of art, a painting of the Sarajevo Cathedral, and cardinal Dziwisz presented Archbishop Puljić with an original manuscript of a sermon given by John Paul II. from 1994. that was said by him in Castel Gandolfo instead of the BiH capital.