On Sunday, November 15th, with the Eucharistic celebration in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 150th jubilee anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul to Sarajevo was marked.
Holy Mass was led by the Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Marko Semren in concelebration with about 10 priests, among whom were: Vicar General of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić; Provincial of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Jozo Marinčić, and the cathedral parish priest and dean of the Sarajevo Deanery, venerable Mato Majić.
At the beginning of the Holy Mass, Msgr. Semren pointed out that “we are gathered in this celebratory communion by God’s love, his mercy and kindness when we open the 150th jubilee anniversary of the arrival of the first Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul to Sarajevo (1871.)”.
He added that the day of the founding of the Society of the Daughters of Christian Love, ie, the Sisters of Charity, was November 29th 1633., that is, 387 years ago.
Recalling that at the time of the arrival of the Sisters of Charity, 150 years ago, Bosnia was a missionary country with many problems, he stressed that this fact brought difficulties, but also joys.
“They lived with people of different nationalities and religions. They lived with full lungs the charisma of St. Vincent and to this day they live it in this area”, said Msgr. Semren, adding that Bishop OFM Paškal Vujčić managed to bring four sisters from Zagreb to Sarajevo and mentioned their names: sister Filomena Massi, sister Rajmunda Perentin, sister Emilija Gašparić and sister Rufina Radonić.
At the end of the Holy Mass, the Provincial Superior of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of the Province of the Mother of God, sister M. Julijana Djaković, spoke about the charisma of the Sisters of Charity and the rich history of society: from the arrival of the first sisters, activities during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and during the First and Second World Wars. Recalling the time of communism, she pointed out that sisters were forced to leave their missions in schools and hospitals. She ended her address by recalling the last war when Sister of Mercy, sister Cecilija Grgić, together with the parish priest rev. Filip Lukenda in Presnače near Banja Luka were killed and burned in the parish house.
Speaking about the walk of the sisters today, she quoted Pope Francis who urges stepping out of the safety of the monastery walls and becoming a messenger of joy to the needy.
The celebration of the Holy Mass was animated by the singing and playing of the choir of the Sisters of Charity.
KT
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Sarajevo – November 15, 2020
