The Pontifical Eucharistic celebration was led by the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan Msgr. Tomo Vukšić, with the concelebration of the Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatto, the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, OFM Zdravko Dadić, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić, and about 30 other priests, including the parish priests of Sarajevo parishes. At the beginning of the Holy Mass, according to the rite prescribed by the Holy See for the opening and closing of the Jubilee Year in the Church, the Jubilee Year in the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna was opened with a prayer ceremony in the pre-entrance of the cathedral.

Archbishop Vukšić began his sermon by reminding that the Church celebrates only examples of persons who have earned the merits of holiness and that from the beginning it has remembered holy persons from its past, and among them, it remembers with gratitude its founder, Jesus Christ.

Christians focused on the journey towards 2033.

“And this rule is precisely the reason why the Gospels were not written as an exhaustive biography of Jesus, but rather the sacred writers remember, record and transmit to the community of believers only those words and events in which Jesus was at work as a saviour. The first key event in the history of salvation is the birth of Jesus, because it stands at its beginning since he only ‘for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary: and became man’ (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). The Church confesses the faith that Jesus, as the second person of the Most Holy Trinity, came down from heaven, was incarnated and became man, and from its early days it has celebrated it every year with the feast of Christmas. And since 1300, a custom has been established, which has lasted for seven centuries, to proclaim jubilees as a remembrance of this important event in the history of salvation, which has long been held every 25 years. Unlike previous ones, the Jubilee Year that we are just beginning will be particularly marked by the fact that it will direct Christians on a journey towards 2033, when 2,000 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus will be celebrated, so the years ahead are a period in which God's grace will accompany the people of God in advance, who walk diligently in faith, active in love and steadfast in hope (cf. 1 Thess 1:3)", emphasized Msgr. Vukšić.

He further explained that the memory of Jesus is at the same time a memorial of the doors of salvation and that this symbolic speech from Jesus' parable corresponds at the level of a sign to the centuries-old tradition in the Catholic Church that in the years of regular jubilees, which are always a reminder of the birth of Jesus, the doors of St. Peter's Basilica are also physically opened, which is again a symbolic gesture.

Visible Signs of Hope

Continuing his sermon, the Archbishop explained that – relying on Christ – Christians are patient pilgrims of hope and are therefore called to be its visible and recognizable signs in the world (cf. Spes non confundit, 8-15). “In this series of signs, words and deeds that Christians should show, peace-making is in the first place and those who do so, according to Jesus’ teaching, will even be called children of God (cf. Mt 5:9)”, he encouraged. Finally, referring to the interpretation of Pope Francis, Msgr. Vukšić said that the image of an anchor brings to mind the stability and security that Christians have in the midst of the turbulent waters of life because they are anchored in the hope of grace. “Therefore, together with the Pope, we conclude: The Holy Year that we are beginning is marked by hope that does not fade, hope in God”, said the Archbishop of Vrhbosna.

The cathedral's mixed choir Josip Stadler, conducted by Rev. Marko Stanušić, regens chori of the cathedral, contributed to the solemnity of the liturgical celebration with harmonious singing and playing, while the liturgy was conducted by the master of ceremonies, Rev. Ivan Rako, rector of the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary, whose theologians assisted at the altar.