Celebration of the Day of the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Sarajevo
On Monday, 20 October, with the Eucharistic celebration and a solemn academic ceremony, the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Sarajevo celebrated its patron Saint Luke and its day.
A Holy Mass was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Sarajevo by the Grand Chancellor of this higher education institution, Metropolitan Archbishop Mons. Tomo Vukšić, concelebrated by about 20 priests, including the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosnia Srebrena, Fr. Zdravko Dadić; Mons. Javier Camañes-Forés, Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Dean Prof. Dr. Preč. Mario Bernadić, who initially expressed gratitude to all the missionaries.
At the beginning of his homily, the Archbishop referred to a passage from Luke’s Gospel (10:1-9), about the event when the disciples asked Jesus to destroy a village in Samaria, which was hostile to them. He explained how Jesus used this occasion to teach them about the difficult demands of the apostolic calling. He also interpreted how every time and society, along with their circumstances, are the places and times to which Jesus’ disciples are sent and where they need to come to proclaim and testify – and every vocation is an honorable way and opportunity to fulfill this mission.
“Furthermore, the educated members of God’s people, as well as those who are on the way of such education and formation, are not only a very important part of Jesus’ plan but are rightly expected to do more. May Jesus’ disciples, sent today to this city – all of you, professors, educators, candidates for priesthood from our three seminaries (archdiocesan, Franciscan, Neo-Catechumenal), and lay students – be an example and advocate,” urged Mons. Vukšić, encouraging them to be open and inclusive towards each other, patient and full of understanding, especially because they come from different nations, languages, races, continents, and cultures. “And through this breadth, you are a visible sign of Catholic universality and universality in this city,” concluded the preacher.
The liturgical celebration was animated by the Choir of Seminarians of the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary under the direction of Prof. Dr. Vlč. Ivan Rake.
Promotion of Masters and Farewell to Prof. Jurišić
After the Eucharist at the Sarajevo cathedral, a solemn academic ceremony took place in the Hall of Pope Paul VI of the Faculty of Theology, which began with the traditional singing of the hymn Gaudemus igitur performed by the Choir of VBS seminarians. At the beginning of his speech, Dean Dr. Bernadić welcomed the attendees and then presented the work of the Faculty of Theology over the past year: “The faculty organized several important scientific conferences: the International Scientific Symposium on Responsibility for the Created World, the First European Workshop on Confronting the Violent Past of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Contribution to Dialogue and the Culture of Listening and Solidarity (in cooperation with the Maximilian Kolbe Foundation), and the Second European Summer School of Interreligious Studies and Peacebuilding. Additionally, we co-organized several international scientific symposia,” he said, especially highlighting the publishing activities, mentioning that this year, two new titles were published: “Sović’s Grammar of Hebrew,” by Associate Professor Dr. Dubravka Turalija, and “Spiritual Theology: Understanding and Practice,” by Associate Professor Dr. Drago Župarić. He also noted that KBF professors published books through other publishers.
He also emphasized that the faculty successfully continued the implementation of several key projects, highlighting two: the project of entering the library collection into the COBISS system – which, with the help of Renovabis, is entering its final phase. The entire library collection will be integrated into the COBISS system. Brief addresses followed from Provincial Dadić, Mons. Vukšić, in the role of Grand Chancellor of the Faculty of Theology, and the Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, Nihad Uk. After welcoming speeches, there was a farewell to long-time professor and the first dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Mons. Pavo Jurišić, whose life journey was spoken about by Prof. Dr. Darko Tomašević, and a Certificate of Appreciation was presented by Dean Bernadić. Professor Jurišić, who spent 33 years at the Faculty, expressed gratitude to the dean and colleagues for the warm farewell.
Following a musical performance, the promotion of Master of Theology took place. The graduates were: Marko Ljubić, Miroslav Petrić, and Dario Adžić. On behalf of the newly promoted masters, Dario Adžić thanked the professors and mentors.
Awards for the Best
The Dean’s Award for the Best Academic Achievement was presented to Nikolina Jukić, a student who, in the previous academic year 2024/2025, passed all her exams in the fourth year of study with a success rate of 9.64. This was her fourth time! The Dean’s Award for the Best Student Paper/Scientific Work in the previous academic year 2024/2025 was given to Dario Adžić, who wrote his paper titled “The Place of Pneumatology in Joseph Ratzinger’s Theology,” under the mentorship of Associate Professor Dr. Hrvoje Kalem.
Awards for Non-Teaching Staff for Outstanding Dedication to Work, awarded to employees of the Faculty who stand out with their work results through quality, creativity, accuracy, and scope, were given to Barnardo Vasilj, Josip Večerko, and Sanja Bajkuša.
Thank-you notes for exceptional contribution to the activity and reputation of the Faculty – for the initiative to join the Franciscan Theology in Sarajevo with the Catholic Theological Faculty – were awarded to Mons. Tomo Vukšić and Fr. Zdravko Dadić, Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosnia Srebrena.
The ceremony concluded with the traditional group photograph of the Masters of Theology, the Grand Chancellor, the Provincial, the Rector, the Dean, and Vice Deans.
