The dedication of the altar of the seminary church of St. Aloysius Gonzaga


In the seminary church of St. Aloysius Gonzaga in Travnik, on September 21st, the Archbishop of Vrbosna Metropolit Vinko cardinal Puljić dedicated the altar of the church, which had been desacralized in the past.

Concelebrated by 30 priests among whom were Msgr. Pavo Jurišić, archdeacon and venerable Željko Marić, rector of the seminary.

Before the beginning of the holy mass the rector, venerable Marić, addressed the present, saying that fellowship is the foundation of the Church. He emphasized that the dedication of the altar was a merciful and historical event, and presented historical information on the seminary church, which was blessed on May 5th, 1885, and on May 1st, 1886, it was blessed by God’s servant dr. Stadler. He noted that from 1944. to 1990. the church was desacralized because the Partisans won Travnik and later the communist authorities made it a warehouse and a sports hall. He then spoke about the time of restoration of the entire building in which the seminary church belongs, and the process has not yet finished.



At the beginning of the mass, cardinal Puljić blessed the water by splashing the gathered crowd, emphasizing that all Christians were baptized as the temple of God.
In his homily, the Archbishop of Vrhbosna first talked about the various disadvantages experienced by priests in the seminary in the process of restoring the Church property.
After which he talked about the symbolism and importance of the dedication of the altar, stressing that the altar will be embedded in the relics of St. Cecilia and St. Polycarp, the saints whose relics were in the old altar.

"The saints are signs in life, how one should live, and the “powers” say that the believer has to hold the altar, because it strengthens it," said the cardinal and spoke of the symbolism of the five flames on the altar that symbolize Christ's wounds.
He also revealed to the faithful the importance of the altar oiling with holy oil, which all believers were anointed in baptism and crises.



After the homily, the Litany of All Saints were prayed, read and signed a muniment, which, together with the relics of the saints, is stored in the altar. After the cardinal had anointed the altar, five flames were lit, and Msgr. Jurišić had lit fire on the walls of the church with a candle and with this completed a ceremony of dedication.
A mass celebration was animated by the school choir under the leadership of Vlatka Čabro.

Many of the socio-political representatives from Travnik and central Bosnia participated in the Mass. The mass was also attended by the Travnik Orthodox priest Goran Živković.