In communion with Msgr. Vukšić there were about 30 priests, including the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, and the Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Javier Camañes-Forés.

At the beginning of the Holy Mass, Archbishop Tomo greeted the celebrants and the present believers, expressing his joy for the candidates for deacons and “this great work of God in their lives, that is, their readiness to cooperate with God’s call”. He encouraged prayer so that the virtue of perseverance would be a constant characteristic of their service.

After the candidates for the diaconate were presented: for the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, Marko Tunjić, and for the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Robert Bašić, the Archbishop of Vrhbosna delivered an appropriate homily.

The Importance of Prayer

Referring to the biblical readings, he spoke about the prayer that the community of believers offers to the Lord, emphasizing that there is a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer of praise, and a prayer of thanksgiving, and that they are all equally important because "only those who know how to be grateful to the Lord God and who know how to express thanksgiving and praise to the Lord God have the moral right to offer prayers of thanksgiving before the Face of the Lord." "The diaconate, like the priestly and episcopal office, is not accepted primarily for the sake of oneself and one's own consecration, but one becomes a deacon primarily for the sake of consecration to others, for the sake of serving others", the Archbishop of Vrhbosna reminded, calling on the candidates for the diaconate to be grateful for this great gift.

Given that the same day is celebrated as Mission Day at the world level, Msgr. Vukšić spoke about the proclamation of the Word of God, not only in “distant missionary regions”, but everywhere in the world and noted that “as much as it is true that missionary regions are somewhere far away where many do not know about Jesus, it is also true that these regions of ours, regions of European and American civilization, have been more and more missionary for decades because they know less and less about Christ the Lord and are less and less ready to follow His teaching”.

“As much as this is Sunday and a day when the entire Church prays for our brothers and sisters who are missionaries in the classical sense, this is also a day when we must be aware of the fact that our regions, which are traditionally called Christian, are also becoming more and more missionary”, emphasized Archbishop Tomo, calling on future deacons to “take care that they are at the service of the community of proclamation, the community of witness, the community that was sent into this world so that the Good News of Jesus may spread and be increasingly present”.

Encouragement to the deacons

After the sermon, the candidates for ordination expressed their readiness to accept consecrated life, to observe the Liturgy of the Hours, and to respect and obey the diocesan bishop and the legitimate religious superiors.

Archbishop Tomo, through the laying on of hands and a consecration prayer, distributed the sacrament of the holy order of the diaconate to the candidates. Then, the newly ordained deacons, with the help of their pastors, donned their official liturgical vestments and at the end of the ceremony received the Evangeliary from the hands of the archbishop, exchanged the kiss of peace with him, and then began serving at the altar.

At the end of the Holy Mass, Msgr. Vukšić gave a short speech of encouragement to the deacons and distributed certificates of having received holy orders.

The Holy Mass was animated by the choir of theologians under the direction of OFM Emanuel Josić.

New Deacons

Marko Tunjić was born on November 21^st, 1994 in Goslar (Germany), the first of three children in the family of Josip and Ljiljana, born Ostojić. He was baptized in the Croatian Catholic Mission Göttingen-Braunschweig, and received the sacrament of confirmation in 2008 in the parish of the BVM Mother of the Church Trnovčica - Zagreb. He completed elementary and secondary electrical engineering school in Zagreb, where he met the Neocatechumenal Way in the parish of Christ the King, and in October 2016 entered the Redemptoris Mater seminary in Vogošća. He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo, where he received his master's degree in 2021.

OFM Robert Bašić was born on February 14^th, 2000 in Nova Bila, and comes from the parish of St. Anthony of Padua - Busovača. He is the son of Ante and Ivana, born Bartulović. He completed his primary and secondary music school, guitar department, in Busovača, and the Franciscan Classical Gymnasium in Visoko. After a year of novitiate, he took his first temporary vows in 2020, and his solemn vows on October 3^rd, 2025 in Sarajevo. He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Franciscan Theology School in Nedžarići, where he graduated in 2025.