The rite of the only day of the year when the Church does not celebrate Holy Mass consists of: the Service of the Word cantered on the Passion of the Lord according to John, then the Adoration of the Holy Cross, and Communion.

The liturgical singing was animated by the Cathedral Mixed Choir Josip Stadler, led by the regens chori of the cathedral, Rev. Marko Stanušić, and the Good Friday Rite was attended by a dozen priests, including the provost of the Vrhbosna Cathedral Chapter, professor at the KBF in Sarajevo, Msgr. Pavo Jurišić, the Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikat, the Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature, Msgr. Javier Camañes-Foréss and the treasurer of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, Rev. Vladimir Pranjić.

After the procession entered the presbytery, Monsignor Vukšić lay down on the ground (prostration) facing the altar, and those present in the cathedral knelt.

Then two lay believers read a passage from the Book of Isaiah and from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Passion of Jesus according to John was sung, where the words of Jesus from the altar were spoken by Monsignor Jurišić, the words of the evangelist were conveyed by the deacon Rev. Marin Petrović, and the other roles were played by members of the Cathedral Mixed Choir who were in the choir.

Listening to Jesus

In his address, Monsignor Jurišić explained how Jesus was condemned to death out of human fear. That is, how Pilate feared a rebellion and whether disagreement with the crowd could spell the end of his political career.

"Here, therefore, his behaviour is no longer about Jesus, but about Pilate himself. In fact, it was all the same to him whether Jesus was a rebel or not. He knows exactly that in the political sense of guilt he is facing a small fish. These are some political conflicts among the Jews themselves, and the Roman governor has nothing to do with them. However, if the Jewish political leaders do not like it, then they could put a noose around his neck and slowly tighten it until they drown him. One of them could also have connections in the centre of the empire, in Rome, and then it would not be a problem to establish facts that would not be favourable to him.

Thus Pilate was driven into a strait, and Jesus was sacrificed for the sake of a political career. What a scandal! But just as Jesus innocently fell into the political machinery of the struggle for power, so today many individuals as well as entire communities and nations become innocent victims of political struggles, interests and intrigues", said Msgr. Jurišić, explaining that no earthly power or all the wealth of this world is worth anything before God.

"Before him, only justice and goodness, righteousness and peace are valuable. He who cares only about power and authority to rule and reign over people is always in danger of selling his soul. Honesty was lost long ago: 'What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or harms himself?' Therefore, he who tramples over the lives and happiness of other people in order to gain power, position and wealth is not without guilt", said Msgr. Jurišić, concluding that Jesus is the commitment of believers; he should be carried into a society obsessed with the power of money and authority and only he should be listened to.

Prayer of the Ten Invocations

After the exhortation, there was a general prayer consisting of ten invocations, with appropriate kneeling, with which prayers were prayed for: the Holy Catholic Church, the Holy Father, all the faithful, catechumens, Christians who are not in full ecclesiastical unity with the Catholic Church, Jews, believers of non-Christian religions, those who do not believe in God, state leaders, and finally for all people in need.

This was followed by the carrying of the covered Cross of Jesus from the bottom of the cathedral to the altar and its unveiling and presentation to the gathered community with the words: "Here is the wood of the Cross, on which the Salvation of the world hung". This was followed by kissing of the Cross.

The last part of the Rite was communion, which was placed on the side altar on Holy Thursday.

After the Good Friday service, some of the faithful remained to pray at the "Tomb of Jesus", and prayer will continue on Holy Saturday until the Easter Vigil on Holy Night and Holy Mass at 9:00 PM.