As part of the joint Deacon’s Pastoral Year, which is organized at the level of the Bishops’ Conference of BiH (BK BiH), 20 deacons included in this program, from March 1st to 4th, travelled around BiH and visited various institutions of the local Church.
This pastoral project of introducing future priests to the Church in BiH began on March 1st in Mostar, and the guide was the canon and professor at the Sarajevo KBF, Msgr. Pavo Jurišić.
The first point of the visit to the City on the river Neretva, was the Provincial centre of the Herzegovina Franciscan Province and a meeting with the Provincial, OFM Miljenko Šteko. This was followed by a tour of Caritas of the Herzegovina dioceses, the Cathedral of Mary Mother of the Church and a conversation with the administration of the Province of the Franciscan School Sisters of Christ the King. They celebrated Holy Mass at the Emmaus Centre in Bijelo Polje, and the Eucharist was led by the bishop of Mostar and Duvno and the Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje and Mrkan, Msgr. Petar Palić.
On the second day, the deacons continued their spiritual-study journey towards Široki Brijeg, where they visited the oldest monastery in this province and the Vice-postulate of the Martyrdom Procedure Fra Leo Petrović and 65 brothers. In Livno, more precisely, the Franciscan monastery in Gorica, they got acquainted, among other things, with the novitiate of Bosna Srebrena. The last destination that day was Banja Luka where they were hosted by Bishop Msgr. Franjo Komarica, and there was a Holy Mass in the cathedral.
On the third day of the study-spiritual trip, the deacons visited church institutions in Banja Luka, visited the Caritas of the Banja Luka diocese and the Trappist monastery of Marija Zvijezda and the Franciscan monastery in Petrićevac. After the City on the river Vrbas, they headed to the shrine of St.John in Podmilačje and the Archdiocese’s Seminary Petar Barbarić and the church of St. Aloysius where they celebrated Holy Mass.
On the last day, March 4th, the deacons visited various church institutions in Sarajevo. They were in Caritas of Vrhbosna Archdiocese and the administration of the Province of the Sisters of Charity in Stup; met with the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Jozo Marinčić in Kovačići; and had a conversation with the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Vinko Puljić, in his residence. They visited the Media Centre of Vrhbosna Archdiocese, Katolički tjednik and web-portal nedelja.ba; the Ordinariate of Vrhbosna Archdiocese, the central institution of the BK BiH; and had a meeting with the provincial heads of the sisters Society of Servants of Little Jesus and Franciscan School Sisters in Bjelave. In the evening, cardinal Puljić led a Holy Mass in the Sarajevo Cathedral, which also ended this study-spiritual journey.
Let us also mention that out of 20 deacons, eight are from the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, three are from the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, four are from the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina, four are from the dioceses of Herzegovina, and one is a deacon of the Croatian Dominican Province.
KT
www.nedjelja.ba
Banja Luka – March 3, 2021
