Before the war, BiH had hundreds of students of Franciscan Theology in Nedzarici in Sarajevo every year. Although today this institution is attended by around thirty young men on an annual basis, the new generation of BH Franciscans is working and studying very hard in order to be keepers of the faith, literacy and good words as well as address where people can always ask for help.
Besides their intellectual abilities, the young friars in Nedzarici are very hardworking as well. Their faculty does not have a single cleaning person, and students clean everything by themselves, they wash the dishes, plant vegetables… Their daily activities completely fill their day, from the early morning until the evening when they go to bed. Fr. Daniel, the man who is like a father and mother to them, said that these young men quickly adapt to this way of life.
In their free time, after classes, prayer, sections or staying in the library, which has around 80,000 books, young friars gladly ride a bike, play basketball, football or table tennis.
“Since I am coming from Vitez, the Franciscan parish, where I hung out with friars a lot, I liked their way of life which is why I wished to enter the community. I liked the fact that friars are always with people, and that encouraged me to become one of them,” said Fr. Oliver Livancic.
“The Franciscans in BiH are priests and cultural workers in the field of pastoral care. They help their people in this way and they dominate spiritually and culturally. The importance of the Franciscan order in BiH is huge. We cannot imagine BiH without Franciscans,” said Fr. Frljic.
“The people sees a moral vertical and role model in us. In this difficult situation that we have today, our biggest task is to give people hope of a better tomorrow,” said Fr. Zelimir.
Besides studying, prayer, daily duties, and extracurricular activities, Fr. Daniel noted that it is most important to teach students patience and humility, which is why they sometimes have more obligations than they should. At the end of the study, all of them are grateful when they find themselves and use their talents.
As the Bosnian friars, they noted that the multi-ethnicity and multi-nationality are a real blessing in our country. According to Fr. Daniel, the more differences we have, the richer we are because we can learn from each other.
Bosnian friars are considered as beloved and great protectors of the people ever since the Austro-Hungarian era. They are often called “uncles” to emphasize that they represent a part of the family.
(Source: Dz. C./Klix.ba)
