With him, there were about 10 priests in the concelebration, including the host, Stup parish priest, guardian of the sanctuary and the Sarajevo dean, rev. Miroslav Ćavar, as well as the secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Javier Camañes - Forés.

The Holy Mass celebration, traditionally, on the outdoor altar began with an opening procession with a votive image of Our Lady.

The gathered believers, who filled the parish yard, were greeted by pastor Ćavar. "We brought here, in front of the Mother, our personal worries, problems, illnesses, prayers and thanks. Lady of Stup, keep our faith, protect us from evil, watch over us and pray for us", he said.

Introducing the Holy Mass celebration, Archbishop Vukšić pointed out that we thank the Lord God for making the entire human race happy with the resurrection of Jesus and for fulfilling in Mary's ascension what St. Paul wrote: "First Christ, and then those who are Christ's." "Our Lady's ascension to heaven is the fulfilment of that Paul's, biblical promise, i.e. the fulfilment of what we as believers constantly confess and always hope for - to believe in the resurrection of the body and eternal life. Not only someone's body and into someone's eternal life, but also into the resurrection of our own body and into our own eternal life", noted Bishop Tomo.

Message of this holy day

After the biblical readings and the proclaimed gospel, Msgr. Vukšić gave an appropriate sermon recalling the words: "Blessed are you for believing that what was told to you by the Lord will be fulfilled." Today is the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. We accept this truth of the Christian faith, as a secret that cannot be fathomed by reason, by faith. Therefore, tonight - like in the mountains in those ancient days when Our Lady came to visit her - Elizabeth repeats the same words to each of us: Blessed are you who believe that what the Lord said will be fulfilled. And what did the Lord say? - That Jesus was resurrected, that the resurrection is a divine promise to the human race, to every individual; that this is the basic truth about Jesus Christ, God and man who came to this world to be resurrected for us and for our resurrection. He was already where he came from, so he returned. Blessed are you for believing that it will be the same for you. These are the basic content and message of today's holiday. The message that since the day of Jesus' resurrection has been repeated in different ways to the believers of Jesus and they confess it in the way of their own faith", explained the archbishop of Vrhbosna.

Confirmation of fulfilled promises

Speaking about the reality of faith, he said that "faith is already the possession of what we hope for". "Because what we hope for already exists in us in the form of our hope. The Ascension of Our Lady is also our promotion, because seeing her ascension to heaven, which is based on the resurrection of Jesus and on the biblical promise that after the first fruits - which is Christ - others will follow, we believe that a similar future awaits each of us. Therefore, blessed are we who believe, blessed are we who hope, blessed are we who, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was taken up to heaven, wish that our lives will only change because they are not taken away. Rather, after the future sleep, we will continue it forever, together with BVM, together with all the saints that we believe are in heaven. Our Lady's ascension is also the reason for our hope, actually the derived reason for our hope - because Jesus' resurrection is also the reason for her ascension to heaven, just as it is the reason for all our hopes. But Our Lady's ascension is a confirmation that the Lord fulfills His promises", said Msgr. Vukšić.

At the end of the Holy Mass celebration, a procession was formed with candles and a votive image, and with a song, we moved towards the Grotto of Our Lady, where the litanies were prayed and the final blessing was given.

The Stup parish youth choir animated the Holy Mass celebration with harmonious singing.

Let's mention that this year, the faithful community at Stup prepared for the celebration of the patron saint with a novena and triduum, and on the day of the patron saint, Holy Mass at 7:00 a.m. - led by the director of the Archdiocesan Centre for Youth Pastoral John Paul II., rev. Dr. Šimo Maršić, the Holy Mass at 9:00 a.m. was led by the dean of the Sarajevo KBF and at 11:00 a.m. the professor at the Sarajevo KBF Dr. Rev. Ljubo Zadrić, who also led the three-day event.