The Holy Mass celebration at Bobovac, which is located in the parish of Kraljeva Sutjeska, was led by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Vrhbosna and the Apostolic Administrator of the Military Ordinariate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić. About 30 priests concelebrated, including the Vicar General of the Military Ordinariate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Željko Čuturić.

Many believers participated, and among those present were military representatives of Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, as well as delegations from the Military Ordinariate in Croatia and the Military Vicariate in Slovenia. Representatives of the political life of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina were also present, including the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marinko Čavara.

We want to hug all the inhabitants of this country

At the beginning of the appropriate sermon, Msgr. Vukšić underlined that on the day of the prayer pilgrimage to Bobovac, the memorial day of St. John Paul II. is also celebrated. On that trail, and in the light of the 25^th anniversary of Pope Woytyla's visit to Sarajevo and BiH, he drew attention to his speeches and sermons. In the foreground, he quoted the thoughts of Pope Wojtyla, who emphasized that “as members of the Catholic Church, according to the teaching of Christ, we are called to testify with our lives that all people are brothers and sisters”. He then recalled the Pope's words from the Sarajevo airport in 1997: “I want to hug all the inhabitants of this much-suffering country, especially those who lost a loved one too soon, those who bear the marks of war on their bodies”.

Archbishop Vukšić further explained that many of the thoughts that the Pope expressed 25 years ago are still contemporary today, including that “the logic of inhuman violence must be replaced by the constructive logic of peace, and the drive for revenge must give way to the liberating power of forgiveness”.

“Today, we humbly ask for God's blessing so that, in accordance with these thoughts, we may be joyful servants in spreading encounters and strengthening friendship among all people. In this sense, we want to be humble witnesses of Christian love, promoters of meeting as part of it and dialogue as its way, all for the sake of building God's kingdom on earth, for the sake of strengthening the common good, spreading friendship and cooperation, and establishing trust and social harmony”, urged the archbishop, and spoke about the thoughts of St. John Paul II. who also said that “it is necessary to ensure equality for ethnic-religious communities because BiH is a mosaic of cultures, religions, and ethnic groups that, if recognized and protected in their diversity, can contribute with their own gifts to the enrichment of the common heritage of the entire civil society”.

Concluding the sermon, Archbishop Vukšić recalled the Pope's words during the Holy Mass at the Koševo stadium that “the peace that Christ gives to his disciples is not the peace that the victors impose on the vanquished, but it is born from love”, and asked for the intercession of St. John Paul with the Lord.

At the end of the Eucharist, Msgr. Čuturić thanked those present, especially the members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the technical organization.

Then the Deputy Director of the Penitentiary in Zenica, Ivica Dujmović, and the Commander of the Guard, Slaven Tadić, presented the paintings of the Last Supper, the work of prisoners, to the vicar of the Military Vicariate of the Army of Slovenia, rev. Matej Jakupič and the representative of the Hajdučka družina Mijata Tomića from Tomislavgrad, Branko Matić.

The liturgy was animated by the choir of theologians of the Redemptoris Mater International Mission Seminary from Vogošća near Sarajevo.

The tradition is established

By the way, the Day of Prayer for the Homeland began with the traditional gathering of pilgrims at the Bukovica river at the foot of Bobovac, from where the procession started with the prayer of the rosary towards the plateau where the Holy Mass was celebrated. At the end of this pilgrimage, which can be said to have come to life in the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, members of the Armed Forces cooked army beans for all those present near the Bukovica river, and there was a gathering with songs.

As a reminder, the initiative for the Day of Prayer in Bobovac came from the Archbishop of Vrhbosna in peace, cardinal Vinko Puljić in 2002 in commemoration of the death of the Bosnian queen Katarina Kosača on October 25^th 1478, with the aim of uniting in prayer for personal needs, for our own people and homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for all the people and nations that live in it.