The meeting began with the Eucharist in the seminary church, led by the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan Msgr. Tomo Vukšić together with the archbishop of Vrhbosna in peace cardinal Vinko  Puljić and about 100 priests, including the vicar general, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić and the canons of Vrhobosna.

At the beginning, the rector of the seminary, rev. Željko Marić, host of the meeting, greeted the present.

The Church of the living God is the house of God

In the appropriate homily, Msgr. Vukšić, based on the Holy Mass readings, spoke first about ruling in the house of God, and then about the testimony of martyrs.

"In that and such a house of God, Jesus gave 'some to be apostles, others to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and others to be shepherds and teachers' (Eph 4:11). And the purpose of all that - both the house of God and all the services in it - is Jesus' desire 'to equip the saints for the work of service, for the building up of the Body of Christ'", said the archbishop and referred to Jesus' judgment of people based on their obedience to God's rules, saying that it is necessary to understand the value of humility, self-denial and renunciation, to adopt the practice of not imposing oneself and to learn the art of being committed to the service of others. He also pointed out how Jesus preached the joy of the kingdom of God in a vivid way through a feast to which everyone was invited.

In the final part, Msgr. Vukšić spoke about the Korean martyr St. Andrew Kim Taegon and another 102 witnesses of Christ from that distant country, whose memorial day was celebrated that day. Quoting some parts of the sermon of St. John Paul II. during the canonization Mass of Korean martyrs, he spoke about today's statistics of the Catholic Church in that Asian country. Among other things, he pointed out that the Church there is constantly growing despite decades of persecution and underlined that today it has six million believers, 18 dioceses, one territorial abbey, 40 bishops, 5 703 priests, 1 602 monks, 9 974 nuns and 96 young men of faith.

At the end of the Holy Mass, those present said a prayer for the beatification of the servant of God, Peter Barbarić.

Presentation on Pope Francis' letter to priests

After the Eucharist, a working part of the meeting took place in the KŠC hall, moderated by Msgr. Ćosić, and the recorder was chancellor rev. Mladen Kalfić. After welcoming those present, the vicar general emphasized the importance of the meeting of priests, conceived in the form of permanent formation. He spoke about the numerical statistics of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna concerning priests, pointing out that the local Church has 211 presbyters, of which 145 work in its territory. From that number, he mentioned, among others, 83 parish priests and 22 retired.

Then, a Salesian active in Žepče, don Mirko Barbarić, SDB, gave a presentation under the title Relationship to priestly service. The central topic was the letter of Pope Francis to the priests of the Diocese of Rome, which refers to all the priests of the world.

Don Mirko reflected on certain points of that letter and emphasized the importance of prayer, the fight against the spirit of worldliness, a dignified attitude towards God's word, fraternal correction of erring colleagues, freedom from clerical practices... Among others, he pointed out that the Bishop of Rome calls in the letter to his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, where he writes that the homily is "a touchstone on the basis of which the proximity and ability of the shepherd to meet his people is evaluated" (no. 135). Analysing the direction of the Pope for the current Synod, the lecturer finally encouraged the priests to "humbly seek pastoral paths inspired by the Holy Spirit so that the comfort of the Lord truly comes to everyone".

Various reports on the institutions of the VA

After the presentation, there was a short discussion, and then it was proceeded on to reports in which the two priests presented the institutions in which they work from their perspective. Thus, the rector, rev. Marić, presented the seminary renovation plan, and rev. Mirko Šimić spoke about the Pastoral and Social Centre of St. Josip.

Rector Marić first presented the "personal map" of the Travnik building and reflected on its restoration over time, with special reference to the processes after the last war and the restitution of property, the return of parts of the building and the taking possession of stolen property...

He noted that it was a long and painful process and spoke about the pastoral, pedagogical and national importance. He noted that 42 000 believers come to the grave of Petar Barbarić during the year, and mentioned the chapel in Šiljevište in Herzegovina, which connects the place of birth and the grave of the servant of God.

The Director of Caritas of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, Dr. Šimić, reported on the progress of work in the Pastoral-Social Centre in the place Lug in the Gromiljak parish near Kiseljak, which will provide accommodation for the elderly and infirm and, among other things, open a kindergarten. It was concluded that this large project will be put into operation in stages, and the hope is expressed that this Centre will be opened mid-autumn.

At the end, the vicar general, Msgr. Ćosić, spoke about the reports of other archdiocesan institutions.  Among other things, he presented information on the Fund for Priests' Solidarity and Mutual Assistance, amendments to the rulebook on the increase of donations for the Holy Mass celebrations, and the John Paul II Archbishop's Centre for Youth Pastoral Care.

The present priests then toured the building of the Travnik seminary, prayed at the grave of the servant of God, Peter Barbarić, and the meeting ended with refreshments and socialising.