Praying for his people

Bosnia and Herzegovina is still scarred by the war in the 1990s. The number of Catholics in the country has been falling in recent decades as many have left the country. In this context, priests are of vital importance to give the faithful hope. ACN is helping to support seminarians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and securing the next generation of priests.

By ACN Staff

Seminarian Gabrijel Pavlovic. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)

Nearly thirty years after the civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains divided by language, ethnicity, and religion. The vast majority of the Catholics in the country are Croats, with many having lost hope in their future in Bosnia and Herzegovina and have left the country. Some estimate that there were 800 thousand Catholics in the country after the war. Now, there are only 500 thousand. In this context, the ministry of priests who can bring the hope of the Gospel is of vital importance.

It is for this reason that 22-year-old Gabrijel wants to become a priest “who prays for his people and with his people”. While growing up, Gabrijel’s father decided that the family would regularly pray together. Initially, Gabrijel was reluctant to pray, but it soon became an essential part of his life. The village that Gabrijel grew up in, Rotimlja, was predominantly Croatian Catholic, with Holy Mass on Sunday playing a vital role in community life.

As a boy, Gabrijel served as an altar boy. This is when he first became interested in the priesthood. He explains more:

“Through altar service I found myself. I realised that my path must lie elsewhere, not in the direction of my peers.”

Eventually, Gabrijel told his parents that when he finished school, he wanted to join the seminary. His mother told him that was a serious decision to make and not something to joke around about. Gabrijel believes she was partly scared and upset at the thought of him leaving their village. When his parents realised that he was serious, they changed their tone. Gabrijel explains more:

“They told me that this vocation was difficult, that this way of life was demanding and that it wouldn’t be as easy as it might have seemed to me as a child.”

Gabrijel is now studying in the seminary. He has become more aware of the issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina facing Catholics and the difficult past of his country.

“The consequences of the war are still being felt and will be for a long time to come. We must not nurture vengeful thoughts, but I feel as if they are somehow secretly hiding in us, in the younger generations. They won't say it publicly, but as soon as some mild problems arise, like economic or religious issues, war will be mentioned immediately, that division will be mentioned immediately, and we all know where that debate leads.

This mixture of peoples, of different cultures and a difficult past, can lead to various conflicts, and I believe there will be conflicts, but I don't think that should be the reason that we should stop cooperating.”

Father Zdenko Spajić, rector of the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary in Sarajevo, where Gabrijel is studying, explained to ACN that Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the smallest of the three main religious groups in the country. Catholics are therefore vulnerable but play a vital role in the country in holding the larger Muslim and Eastern Orthodox communities in the country together. The seminary is around 130 years old and was closed for about two and a half decades under communism before being allowed to reopen in the mid-1960s. The seminary used to have around 100 seminarians consistently, but the numbers dropped during the war in the 1990s. Gabrijel is now one of twelve seminarians studying in the seminary. 

The seminary is reliant on the support of ACN’s benefactors. Gabrijel asked for our supporters to continue to help support the seminary:

“I would ask them to continue to support us because no matter how much the number of seminarians has decreased, this building is unique, and I think that we should continue working on its renovation. First of all, as the father rector said a few days ago, the most important renewal should be the renewal of the seminarians. If that is the case, we will easily renew the seminary.”

ACN supports seminarians like Gabrijel all over the world. Please donate if you would like to help us in our work.