On the memorial day of St. John de la Sale, on April 7th, in the Mostar Cathedral of Mary Mother of the Church, Msgr. Ivan Štironja, was ordained a bishop of Diocese of Kotor.
The main priest of ordaining ceremony was the Archbishop of Split and Makarska, Msgr. Marin Barišić, with assistance of the Bishop of Mostar and Duvno and the Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje and Mrkan, Msgr. Petar Palić and the Archbishop of Bar, Msgr. Rrok Gjonlleshaj, former apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Kotor.
16 archbishops from BiH, Croatia, Montenegro and surrounding countries concelebrated the Eucharist. The members of the BK BiH were led by the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Vinko Puljić, and the guests from Croatia were led by the Archbishop of Zadar and the President of the HBK, Msgr. Želimir Puljić.
The members of the International Bishops’ Conference of St. Cyril and Methodius, led by the Bishop of Zrenjanin, Msgr. Ladislav Nemet, SVD, also concelebrated as well as the Provincials of the Herzegovina Franciscan Province, OFM Miljenko Šteko, and Bosna Srebrena, OFM Jozo Marinčić, as well as priests of Kotor and all arch/dioceses of BiH.
Numerous representatives of political and civil authorities from BiH and Croatia, as well as the priest’s relatives and friends, as well as believers from various parishes in which he worked, were present.
The Bishop of Zahumlje-Herzegovina and Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Dimitrije, was represented by the Mostar parish priest Radivoje Krulj.
Bull appointments
The Holy Mass of Ordination began with a solemn procession, followed by words of greeting from the host bishop Msgr. Palić to all those present and especially to rev. Ivan, who was “chosen to be a shepherd”.
“Dear Brother Ivan, today the Holy Church places you in the apostolic legacy that lives in Episcopal collegiality (…) Christ dedicates you with anointing service and conforms you to his unique and unrepeatable priesthood, to live him in a special way as ‘first in love’ in the service of His Church in the Diocese of Kotor”, said Msgr. Palić, thanking the ordained priest for his work in all the services entrusted to him in the Herzegovina dioceses, Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the missions.
After the biblical readings and the proclaimed Gospel, Pope Francis’ bull on the appointment of Msgr. Štironja as the Bishop of Kotor was read in Latin and Croatian by the Advisor of the Apostolic Nunciature in BiH, Msgr. Amaury Medina Blanco and the Chancellor of the Diocese of Kotor rev. Robert Tonsati.
The Lord entrusts the tasks
After that, the appropriate sermon was given by Archbishop Barišić, who explained that the ordination due to epidemiological measures was not held in the Kotor but in the Mostar Cathedral.
“Today, the risen Lord ‘crosses borders’, catches up with us and gathers us in the Mostar Cathedral of Mary the Mother of the Church. The Mother Church begs the Good Shepherd to consecrate by the power of the Spirit of his love the one he chooses to be a visible sign of his love in the Church of God which is in Boka, in Montenegro. It’s you, dear rev. Ivan! The Lord has chosen you to serve as a shepherd in the ‘Bay of Saints’. Christ, who knows the hearts of men, has recognized fidelity in your past priesthood, and now entrusts you with even greater tasks, to be faithful to him in this as well. With the experience of various services, we are convinced that you will be a good missionary and evangelizer in the Diocese of Kotor”, said Msgr. Barišić, who then asked who the priests, monks and bishops were and what their vocation was. Following this, he offered the answer that they were called to be, not fiancés, but only friends of the Fiancé.
“Therefore, we cannot marry the parish, the diocese, take it into our possession because Christ the Lord is the only Fiancé”, said the archbishop of Split, noting that all gestures and symbols of Episcopal ordination point to the love of God.
Emphasizing that the Church of Christ is universal where love respects and values everything, he gave the priest a few pieces of advice and thus ended the sermon: “Listen more than you speak. Speak only out of love and always for love. Do not forget every day even in the most difficult days to shout: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord’ (…) And all because ‘God is love!’”
The rite of Episcopal ordination
Then, with the singing of the Litany of All Saints, the rite of ordination began, with the consent of Msgr. Štironja, by prostration, laying of hands, prayer of ordination, anointing of the head with the oil of the Holy confirmation and receiving the evangeliary, the ring, the mitre and the crosier (bishops staff).
After that, the oldest priest of the Diocese of Kotor, the canon of the Cathedral chapter and the parish priest in Preras, Msgr. Srećko Majić congratulated the ordained bishop and expressed “respect, loyalty, obedience”. He then presented statistical data on this diocese in Montenegro, saying: “Four shrines of Our Lady, more than 90 churches and chapels in which Holy Mass is celebrated at least once a year, about 10 500 believers, about 20 nuns, one deacon and 13 priests are waiting for you.”
In his address at the end of the Eucharist, Bishop Štironja thanked God for his parents, brothers and sisters and their families who have always been supportive. He expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis and the chief ordainer and co-ordainers. Among others, he sent special thanks to the brothers priests and laity of the Kotor diocese who came to Mostar and told them that he “comes with an open heart, grateful to all the predecessors, the bishops of the Church in Kotor”.
At the end of the Holy Mass, the newly ordained bishop passed through the cathedral and blessed those gathered.
Liturgical singing was animated by the combined choirs of the parish of Studenci and the Cathedral of Mostar under the direction of prof. Drago Soldo with organ accompaniment by sister Matea Krešić. The ceremonies were conducted by rev. Domagoj Markić.
We wish Bishop Ivan an abundance of God’s blessing in his service in Montenegro and the Diocese of Kotor, which traditionally belongs to the Split-Makarska metropolis.
“Identity card” of Msgr. Štironja
Rev. Ivan was born in 1960. in Pješivac, then the parish of Prenj, today Aladinići, in a family of ten children by father Stojan and mother Anica b. Bošković. He finished high school with the Jesuits in Dubrovnik, and studied theology at the High School of Philosophy and Theology in Sarajevo (1980.-1986.).
He was ordained a priest of the Trebinje-Mrkan diocese in the Mostar Cathedral in 1986. Already as a young man he went to missions and pastorally worked in the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania (1988-1992). He then went to a Croatian parish in Oakville, Canada, where he remained for three years.
He studied liturgy in Padua, and after that he was the parish priest of the cathedral in Mostar (1998.-2002.). For the next 20 years he was on various pastoral assignments at the BK BiH and the home diocese. He was diocesan and national director of the PMD. He was also: a member of the Presbyterian Council, the Board of Consultants, the Supervisory Board of Caritas. In addition to Croatian, he speaks English, Italian and African Kiswahili (Swahili).
KT
www.nedjelja.ba
Mostar – April 7, 2021
