Celebration of the Day of the Catholic Faculty of Theology at the University of Sarajevo

With a Eucharistic celebration in the Sarajevo Cathedral and a ceremonial academy at the Vrhbosnian Theological Seminary on 19 October, the Day of the Catholic Faculty of Theology (CFT) of the University of Sarajevo was celebrated. The event was placed under the heavenly protection of St. Luke the Evangelist.

The Eucharistic celebration took place at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Sarajevo, followed by a ceremonial academy in the Paul VI Hall at the Vrhbosnian Theological Seminary on Monday, 19 October 2026. The event marked the Day of the Catholic Faculty of Theology of the University of Sarajevo, which is under the patronage of St. Luke the Evangelist.

The solemn Mass was presided over by the Grand Chancellor of CFT, Archbishop Metropolitan of Vrhbosnia Tomo Vukšić, concelebrated by priests who are professors at CFT and educators of the theological community, along with other clergy. The celebration was attended by theology students, faculty members, religious sisters, and other faithful.

At the beginning of the Mass, the Dean of CFT, Associate Professor Dr. Mario Bernadić, greeted all attendees, reminding them that the Faculty's heavenly patron, St. Luke, was a distinguished and educated man of his time, a Greek physician who ultimately placed his knowledge and skills in the service of Christ and the Gospel, the Good News. He emphasized that this educational institution has survived for 136 years despite difficult and challenging historical circumstances, precisely thanks to trust in God's grace and power.

Following his greetings, Archbishop Vukšić invited everyone to pray that God, through the intercession of St. Luke, "this great saint from the beginning of the Christian faith, bless us, Christians of the current generation, so that in this part of the world, like St. Luke and other apostles, we may spread the Good News and proclaim Jesus' resurrection." He particularly greeted a group of faithful who had pilgrimaged on foot from Brod to the cathedral. "Dear brothers and sisters, may your physical effort and the devotions you performed along the way be for your benefit and ours. May our common prayer in this Mass be an invocation to the Holy Spirit, that through the intercession of St. Luke, the dear God bless all people of good will," said Archbishop Tomo in his introduction to the Mass.

In his homily titled "St. Luke and Recognizing and Interpreting the Signs of the Times," the Archbishop of Vrhbosnia reminded attendees that, in accordance with widespread church tradition in Catholic educational institutions, CFT begins each academic year with a Eucharistic celebration and prayer, invoking the Holy Spirit to bless with His grace all who commit to God's wisdom and, with faith as their fundamental conviction and life orientation, follow, study, research, and interpret that Wisdom for others. "For a Christian believer, every new beginning is an opportunity to pray for God's blessing and support with faith in progress. In this sense, there is a well-known prayer that we gladly repeat today, at the beginning of the new academic year: 'Prevent, we pray, O Lord, our actions with Your favor and further them with Your help, that all our prayers and works may always begin from You and, having begun, be completed with Your help,'" explained Archbishop Tomo, noting that every theological faculty, which by its nature is a privileged place for confessing and witnessing the Christian faith, is equally a blessed place for studying, researching, and interpreting God's wisdom and a lasting incentive for its imitation.

He said that St. Luke is known primarily as an evangelist and author of the Acts of the Apostles, and that his contribution, beyond authoring sacred texts, encompasses several important themes in Christian theology. "All of Luke's reflections are precious, but particularly important, dear, inspiring, and contemporary is his theology of universal salvation, in which he does not present Jesus merely as the Messiah of the chosen people but as the universal Savior of the world, of every human being and nation," emphasized the Archbishop of Vrhbosnia, adding that Luke's writings are gladly called the "Gospel of God's Mercy." Stressing that Luke's reflections on the Church as a community of believers led by the Holy Spirit, always and forever, have enduring value, he emphasized that those entrusted with cooperation with the Holy Spirit through their visible leadership of church communities at any level or in any service in the visible Church must always keep Luke's theology in mind. "In times when women are not sufficiently valued in many places, or when the dignity of women is threatened in various forms, or when that dignity is not properly protected, it is important to note with what respect Luke approaches the role of Mary and other women during Jesus' life and the early days of the Church," said Monsignor Vukšić, adding that Luke is also recognized as a theologian of humility and service in the church community and of sensitivity and justice for the poor and vulnerable in society.

"All the mentioned themes are very contemporary and in their own way fall into the category of what the Second Vatican Council calls 'signs of the times.' These signs, which God sends or allows in every human generation, must be noticed, studied, interpreted by the Church and theology, and active participation must be sought in finding effective and morally acceptable responses to resolve open issues," he emphasized, explaining that the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, is called to discern events, demands, and aspirations of every era. And to fulfill its task – the Archbishop noted – it must study and interpret the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel, so that, in a manner adapted to each generation, it can respond to people's eternal questions about the meaning of present and future life and their mutual relationships.

"The Church is always in dialogue and always in motion, and within the communion of the baptized, who are all dynamically engaged, special responsibilities fall on bishops and theologians. Likewise, it is the duty of the entire People of God, but especially of pastors and theologians, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to listen attentively, discern, and interpret the various languages of our time and to know how to judge in the light of God's Word, so that the revealed truth may be better understood and presented in a more appropriate form," said Archbishop Vukšić, who at the end congratulated CFT on the feast of St. Luke, invoking his intercession so that the dear God may strengthen the faith of all who gather around the Faculty.

This was followed by the solemn academic ceremony, which began with the student hymn "Gaudeamus igitur," sung by the CFT Choir under the direction of Rev. Dr. sc. Ivan Rake, who also animated the Mass in the cathedral.

The opening address was given by Dean Bernadić, who greeted all attendees, including representatives of the academic community and civil authorities.

Reflecting on CFT's work during the past academic year, he reminded attendees that the Faculty, co-organizing with the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of East Sarajevo, organized the international scientific symposium "The Nicene Council and Its Legacy: Challenges and Perspectives in Contemporary Theological Discourse." It was also a co-organizer of two international scientific gatherings: the International Conference "Because We Care," organized in Sarajevo by the Archbishop's Center for Youth Pastoral "John Paul II," and the International Symposium of Professors of Theology and Philosophy in Trakošćan, which is regularly organized annually by the CFT of the University of Zagreb. Among numerous engagements of CFT professors in various international theological associations and meetings, he highlighted participation in the Meeting of Professors of Philosophy, Theology, and Church Music of the Croatian-speaking area in Topusko and mentioned the participation of CFT students in the so-called Theologiad in Split. He noted that during the past academic year, they hosted students from Cambridge Muslim College, representatives of Risalat International Institute and the Persian-Bosnian College, as well as representatives of professors and students from Utah State University, and also received a delegation from the German Bishops' Conference as part of their interreligious visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. He reported that the joint master's study program "Interreligious Studies and Peacebuilding," which CFT conducts and organizes together with the Faculty of Islamic Sciences at the University of Sarajevo and the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of East Sarajevo, was continued. Speaking about the Faculty's publishing activities, he mentioned the book "Apostolic Tradition" by Hippolytus of Rome, translated and commented on by Associate Professor Dr. Josip Knežević, as well as the book by Associate Professor Dr. Ilija Marković "'Male and Female He Created Them' (Genesis 1:27). Marriages between Catholics and Muslims: History, Law, and Pastoral Care." He noted that new issues of the CFT's scientific journal "Vrhbosnensia" were published, which – as he said – made a digital leap by introducing DOI identifiers for scientific papers. At the beginning of the year, a new Faculty website was presented, and last month, a three-year project of entering library materials into the COBISS system was completed. He announced that on 20 October, an international scientific symposium dedicated to Archbishop Smiljan Franjo Čekada would begin, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. Furthermore, he said that in the academic year 2025/2026, eleven students completed the integrated philosophical-theological study, including, for the first time, Franciscan students and one Master of Theology from the African continent.

Finally, he thanked all benefactors – the church organizations Renovabis and Church in Need, the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Science, Higher Education, and Youth of the Sarajevo Canton, the American Bishops' Conference, the Vrhbosnia Archbishopric, as well as all who support them with prayers and sacrifices. He expressed special gratitude to CFT employees "without whose contribution and selfless giving this institution would not exist," and to the dear God "with whose help we successfully completed the past academic year and with whose help we begin this one, and we trust in the intercession of St. Luke, our protector."

In his address, Archbishop Vukšić emphasized that in a society marked by numerous complex issues, although religious representatives and institutions cannot solve all social challenges themselves, they are called to be a good example.

Appropriate words were then addressed by the Rector of the University of Sarajevo, Professor Dr. Tarik Zaimović, and the Minister of Science, Higher Education, and Youth of the Sarajevo Canton, Professor Dr. Duška Bošković.

A lecture on the topic "Magnifica Humanitas – on the Possibility of the Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" was then held by Tea Vuglec Mijović, a senior assistant at CFT, who spoke about the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV.

This was followed by the solemn ceremony of promoting students who, after completing five years of integrated philosophical-theological study, acquired the academic title of Master of Theology. During the academic year 2025/2026, eleven candidates successfully completed the study: Leo Vidović, Tomislav Čarapina, Antonio Jurič, Theophile Habimana, Nikolina Jukić, Filip Jakov Šero, Stipe Gabrić, Zoran Miličević, Stefan Kukrić, Ivan Popović, and Nikola Trajkov.

The promises of all candidates were received, and the text proclaiming them Masters of Theology was read by the Vice-Dean, Dr. sc. Precentor Darko Tomašević. Eight of the masters present received their diplomas from the hands of Dean Bernadić, who congratulated them, and they were also congratulated by Archbishop Vukšić.

This was followed by the awarding of recognition for exceptional success. The Grand Chancellor's Award was received by Nikolina Jukić and Stipe Gabrić, the Dean's Award for the best written work by Theophile Habimana, and the Dean's Award for the best academic performance by Ivan Pilić, who achieved a grade average of 9.86.

The celebration of the Faculty Day concluded with group photography and an appropriate reception in the premises of the Vrhbosnian Theological Seminary. (kta)

Source: Catholic News Agency