Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing for the third visit of one of Peter’s successors. Peace is the key word that was evoked by John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and it is the motto under which Pope Francis will arrive in early June.
The central event for the faithful will be the Holy Mass at Koševo, and all the details are under control of Monsignor Tomo Knežević, the organizer of the ceremony and head of liturgical and music committee.
Mons.Knežević points out that for all the Christian Eucharistic celebration the central event of the meeting with the Holy Father.
We must bear in mind, he says, as the liturgy of the font from which all the power of the Church, but also the culmination of the pursued its overall effort.
“That is why there were a lot of things that needed to be done in cooperation with other sub-committees. Primarily, these are liturgical texts that we comprise here and then we make a proposal to the liturgical office of the Vatican.
To our great joy, we have prepared well and submitted all the proposals so that the Vatican is preparing a special Missal according to which the Pope will celebrate the Mass and have a prayer meeting with the religious dignitaries at the Sarajevo cathedral, and we are preparing a guide for both liturgical celebrations,” explained Knežević.
He points out that a question arose how to make Koševo stadium a liturgical space, and the largest church in the open for this specific need. Numerous other tasks had to be completed such as many preparing and supply of liturgical vestments, vessels, wafer, Mass wine and the overall arrangement of the liturgical space i.e. the dais with an altar, the ambon (pulpit) with the Pope’s chair and two crosses, the image of Our Lady, the space with chairs for assistants and clergy.
“However, we also had to think about the assistant priests, as well as the great liturgical assembly.
There are many Catholics and non-Catholics who are willing to invest their effort and provide direct support to this liturgical event,” said Monsignor Knežević for “Večernji list”.
(Source: Fena)
