On Monday, July 11th, on the hills not far from Prnjavor where used to be a believers community of Gumjer, parish of Polish people, the 79th anniversary of the violent death of the local parish priest rev. Ante Dujlović was marked, for whom the beatification process is underway.
On the foundations of the parish church, a Holy Mass was celebrated again this year, led by the bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica. Three priests concelebrated, including the priest of Prnjavor, Msgr. Vlado Lukenda.
In the appropriate homily, interpreting the liturgical readings, the bishop spoke about Jesus “who laid down his life for us out of love”. He recalled the words of St. John Paul II that the Church must preserve a permanent monument to its martyrs, “not for revenge, but to be peacemakers”. He particularly referred to the character of the young parish priest Dujlović, born in the ancient parish of Ivanjska near Banja Luka in 1914, and killed in odium fidei on July 11th 1943 “by the then rulers of this region”. He thanked those present for praying for the church process for the beatification of this servant of God.
After the Holy Mass, those present prayed the rosary, “pilgrimaged” to the once main cemetery of the parish, which is covered by a dense forest. In front of a large memorial cross erected a few years ago by Msgr. Lukenda, they prayed for all the deceased parishioners whose descendants had to leave this area in 1946 and move to Poland, to the town of Ocice.
KT
Banja Luka – July 12, 2022
