Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bishops’ plenary on Jubilee and Caritas Report has come to an end. New Secretary General elected

The 90th ordinary assembly of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina, presided over by the President, Mgr Tomo Vuksic, Archbishop of Sarajevo, took place at the Bishops Palace in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 16 and 17 July. In addition to the members of the Bishops’ Conference, two delegates from abroad also participated: Mgr Ivo Martinovic, from the Croatian Bishops’ Conference, and Mgr Peter Stumpf, from the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference. At the beginning of the plenary meeting, the Apostolic Nuncio, Mgr Francis Assisi Chullikatt, met the Bishops of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and particularly thanked Mgr Marko Semren, Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka, whose resignation was accepted by Pope Francis on 15 July. The Nuncio also gave the bishops information about the celebration of the Jubilee. The plenary assembly was also an occasion to present the Supervisory Board’s report on Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina for activities in 2023 as well as Caritas Annual Report and Caritas’ new strategic plan in the Balkan country for the next five years. Moreover, the bishops reflected on their recent ad limina visit to the Vatican from 3 to 8 May. Fr Bojan Ivesic was elected Secretary General by the clergy of the Diocese of Sarajevo and will also serve as editor-in-chief of the Bishops’ Conference news agency “KTA”. The bishops thanked Mgr Ivo Tomasevic for his dedication and work over the past 20 years. In addition, the Council for the Family of the Bishops’ Conference was united with the Council for the Laity and the Youth Committee under the presidency of Mgr Zeljko Majic, Bishop of Banja Luka. The bishops encourage priests to give special attention to the Family Day which will take place in Kupres on 28 July.Iva Mihailova