The new archbishop and metropolitan of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić, was liturgically introduced with a solemn Holy Mass that was celebrated on Saturday, March 12th, in the Sarajevo Cathedral.
The service began with a solemn procession, after which, following the incense spreading and the sign of the cross, upon entering the altar, the Archbishop of Vrhbosna in peace, cardinal Vinko Puljić, greeted all present.
Handing over the crosier
He said that both as a priest and as an archbishop, he always thanked God especially during the Holy Mass for the call to serve Him closely, as well as for so many gifts He gave him and which He gives him again and again every day. “In this Eucharistic celebration I will thank in a special way the heavenly Father through his Son in the Holy Spirit for all the graces I have received all these years in which I have been entrusted with the leadership of the local Church of Vrhbosna (…) I was enthroned as Archbishop of Vrhbosna in the time of coming of fragile democracy in this area. Numerous good pastoral initiatives were stopped by a bloody war, leaving behind material and often spiritual devastation. The severe war destruction in Ukraine brought back to my mind, as well as many in this country, that time of suffering”, said cardinal Puljić and then addressed his successor. “To you, dear brother bishop Tomo, my dear heir, I entrust this episcopal crosier, a symbol by which I entrust to you the administration of this local Church as a local shepherd. I am also handing over to you the chair in this cathedral from which you will perform your teaching service. I am handing you this altar in the cathedral from where you will celebrate the Eucharist and bless the entrusted people (…) Do not be shaken by the fact that I was a big beggar for this local Church, as well as for the local Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was not difficult for me to ask for help because I did not ask for myself, but for this Church of Christ. I recommend myself to everyone in prayer, so that I live this time, which God still gives me, fulfilling the will of God so I can get ready to step faithfully from time to eternity”, said the Archbishop in peace, who then in front of the main altar, officially gave bishop’s /shepherd’s staff to his successor, the new archbishop, Metropolitan of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić. It is a silver staff that is, above all, a sign of service, ie episcopal service in the Church.
Numerous guests
Together with the Archbishops of Vrhbosna, the Holy Mass was concelebrated by: the Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica; Bishop of Mostar and Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan Msgr. Petar Palić; Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Marko Semren; Apostolic Visitator for the Parish of Međugorje Msgr. Aldo Cavalli; Archbishop of Split and Makarska Msgr. Marin Barišić; Archbishop Metropolitan of Đakovo-Osijek Msgr. Đuro Hranić; Archbishop Coadjutor of Rijeka Msgr. Mate Uzinić; Bishop of Krk Msgr. Ivica Petanjak; Military Ordinary in the Republic of Croatia Msgr. Jure Bogdan; Bishop of Šibenik Msgr. Tomislav Rogić; Bishop of Dubrovnik Msgr. Roko Glasnović; Auxiliary Bishop of Zagreb Msgr. Mijo Gorski; Auxiliary Bishop of Đakovo-Osijek Msgr. Ivan Ćurić; Bishop of Zrenjanin and President of the International Bishops’ Conference St. Cyril and Methodius Msgr. Ladislav Német; Archbishop of Belgrade Msgr. Stanislav Hočevar; Bishop of Skopje Msgr. Kiro Stojanov; Bishop of the Greek Catholic Diocese of St. Nicholas in Ruski Krstur, Msgr. Đura Džudžar; Archbishop of Bar Msgr. Rrok Gjonlleshaj; Bishop of Prizren and Priština Msgr. Dodë Gjergji; Bishop of Kotor Msgr. Ivan Štironja; Bishop of Subotica Msgr. Slavko Večerin; Bishop Coadjutor of Srijem Msgr. Fabijan Svalina; Bishop of Kotor in peace Msgr. Ilija Janjić, and the Bishop of Klagenfurt, Msgr. Josef Marketz.
Also, among 130 priests, in the concelebration was the charge d’affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in BiH, Msgr. Amaury Medina Blanco, as well as the advisor of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bangladesh, Msgr. Marinko Antolović, religious leaders OFM Jozo Marinčić, OFM Miljenko Šteko and father Slavko Slišković, and the Franciscan visitator OFM Božo Vuleta.
The Holy Mass was attended by a large number of nuns from various societies, led by their leaders, candidates, theologians, representatives of social, political and cultural life, relatives and parishioners from the Archbishop’s home Studenci, and other lay faithful.
To the perfect man
The service of the word followed, and after the biblical readings and the proclaimed gospel, Archbishop Vukšić delivered a sermon. At the beginning, he explained that the centre of the Christian life is joy because of God’s love for people and for all other creatures. “The personification of that love is Jesus Christ, the most excellent expression of God’s closeness and for all a model, an example, a teacher and a rule of love for every human being. Therefore, as believers, we constantly thank the Lord God for blessing and happiness when we are faithful to the rule of Christian love (…) Jesus is the embodied love of God which is tireless and infinitely patient precisely because it is God’s (…) We know that Jesus performed miracles and he also restored physical sight to some blind people. But His desire is to restore sight to the morally blind. To those who have fallen deeply and who need help to stand up again because they can no longer stand alone (…) The proclamation and witnessing of the real and moral liberation of man is the basic mission of every prophet and witness of God. Among them, this applies in the first place to the bishops, the successors of the apostles. However, this is also the mission of every Christian believer, but, in accordance with the natural law and the basic rules of healthy ethics, it is also the mission of every human being”, said Archbishop Tomo, adding: “Everyone in their vocation, in the workplace, in the family and in society, according to their abilities and talents, is called to give their contribution so that they can grow up ‘to a perfect man, to the measure of the fullness of Christ’.”
At the end of the Holy Mass, greetings were sent to the new Archbishop of Vrhbosna.
First, on behalf of the bishops, the Bishop of Đakovo, Msgr. Đuro Hranić, representative of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference, addressed the present expressing his wish that “the Vrhbosna Archdiocese continues to abound in good, numerous, sacrificial and holy clergy, good and busy members of male and female religious communities, and to shine with unity and cooperation of various services and charisms of God’s people, in the realization of the evangelizing mission”, which God’s Providence entrusts to Archbishop Vukšić personally, to the Vrhbosna Archdiocese and to the Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina today.
Then, on behalf of the clergy, Msgr. Luka Tunjić, National Director of the Papal Missions of BiH and former Vicar General of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, spoke.
On behalf of the monks and nuns, OFM Jozo Marinčić, Provincial of the Province of the Holy Cross – Bosna Srebrena and President of the KVRPP BiH, said, among other things: “Dear Archbishop Tomo, I wish you the spiritual courage and spiritual joy to give yourself, that you belong to everyone and that every priest, every monk, nun, every believer feels that you are his. That through you Christ may be given to everyone and through you be visible, recognizable, alive and glorified.”
On behalf of the lay faithful of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, the Buzuk family (spouses Emanuela and Ivan, and sons Toni and Jakov) greeted and welcomed the archbishop.
After them, the new Archbishop addressed the gathered, saying: “On this solemn occasion, with a special sense of respect, I greet you, dear believers of Christ, priests, monks, nuns, theologians and seminarians in the Vrhbosna Archdiocese. I want to be a humble servant of God’s will and your spiritual needs and, together with you and with your help and cooperation, to be a friend of the people and a witness to Christian hope.”
A solemn final blessing followed.
The celebration of the Holy Mass with harmonious singing – on this historic day for the Church of Vrhbosna by which it officially received a new shepherd, ie the seventh Archbishop of Vrhbosna – was animated by the Cathedral Choir Josip Stadler under the direction and organ accompaniment of Rev. Marko Stanušić, while the ceremony was conducted by Dr. Rev. Ivan Rako, and the assistants at the altar were deacons and theologians of all three seminaries in Sarajevo.
Biography and coat of arms of the new archbishop
Dr. Msgr. Tomo Vukšić was born on January 9th, 1954 in Studenci, in the Mostar-Duvno diocese. After studying philosophy and theology in Sarajevo and serving in the army (1977-1978), he was ordained a priest of the Mostar-Duvno diocese in Studenci on June 29th, 1980. He was the parish vicar of the Mostar Cathedral from 1980 to 1982. Then, as a Propaganda Fide scholar, he earned a master’s degree in ecumenical theology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute (1984) and one in canon law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University (1986). From 1986 to 1988 he served as secretary of the diocese and bishop Pavle Žanić. After that he was a cadet of the Papal Croatian Institute of St. Jerome in Rome (1988-1991), and again a student at the Pontifical Oriental Institute where he earned his doctorate (1991).
Returning to his homeland, he was head of the Theological Institute in Mostar (1991-1994); lecturer at the Theological Institute in Dubrovnik (1992-1997); Vice-Rector of the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary in Sarajevo (1993-1998); Judicial Vicar in the Diocese of Mostar and Duvno (1993-2009); Director of the Catholic Press Agency of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina (from 1998 to 2005), member of the Joint Commission for the Implementation of the Basic Agreement between the Holy See and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On February 1st, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI established the Military Ordinariate for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the then Vicar General of the Diocese of Mostar and Duvno and Professor at the Catholic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo, Msgr. Vukšić was appointed the first military ordinary. He was ordained a bishop on April 2nd, 2011 in the Mostar Cathedral of Our Lady of the Church.
He is fluent in Italian; and uses German and French. He is the author of numerous and esteemed publications in theology, canon law, Church history, and contemporary issues.
His episcopal coat of arms was made by Dr. Renato Poletti from Rome and he also prepared his heraldic description and interpretation of the episcopal motto.
Msgr. Vukšić chose a shield of the Gothic style, classic and often used in church heraldry, and a golden cross decorated with five red stones reminiscent of the five wounds of Christ.
In the blue field there is a silver star with seven arms, next to which are two golden olive branches placed obliquely. Above it all is the golden monogram XP, which are the Greek letters hi and ro as the initial letters of the name Χριστὸς – Christ.
The words of the episcopal motto I give you my peace (Jn 14:27) are taken from the Gospel where the evangelist John takes over the words of Jesus that promise the coming of the Spirit the Defender. The motto announces the pastoral plan of Msgr. Vukšić, who, in his role, first the one of military ordinary in BiH and then archbishop of Vrhbosna, in a country that has been the scene of bloody conflicts in the recent past, wants to be a supporter of peace and harmony among peoples of various ethnic groups living in this part of Europe.
The colour blue is a symbol of the incorruptibility of the firmament and represents separation from earthly values and the ascension of the soul to God.
Christ’s monogram XP stands out primarily on the blue colour of the shield to indicate the central place of Christ in the pastoral ministry of Archbishop Vukšić in his role of spiritual care for the faithful.
The Marian star, surrounded by two olive branches, a symbol of peace, a thought invoked by the bishop’s motto, recognizes Mary as the “queen of peace” in her capacity as mother of the Redeemer, the one who was called in prophetic visions as a “prince of peace”(Isaiah 9,5).
According to the church’s Catholic heraldic tradition, the archbishop’s coat of arms is almost always composed of: a shield that can have various shapes (always reducible to the appearance of a heraldic shield) and contains symbols taken from personal ideals, family traditions, one’s own name, living environment or else; processional cross with two transverse arms in gold, placed in palo, or vertically behind the shield; a prelate’s hat (galero) with a ribbon of 20 fringes hanging, 10 on each side, and a lower band carrying the motto usually written in black.
KT
Sarajevo – March 12, 2022
