In the parish church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in the parish of Presnače on May 12th, marked the 27th anniversary of the martyrdom of the parish priest rev. Filip Lukenda and sister Cecilia Grgić.
On this occasion, a large number of nuns gathered in the newly built parish church, especially from the Society of the Sisters of Charity, led by the Sister Superior M. Miroslav Bradica from Zagreb and the Provincial Sister Superior from Sarajevo Julijana Djaković. Before the Holy Mass, those present prayed in the memorial room, the former parish office, where a priest and a nun were killed and burned.
The Eucharist was then celebrated in the church, led by the Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica in concelebration with the parish priest Msgr. Ivica Božinović and two other priests.
In his homily, the bishop first recalled the authoritative words of Pope Francis in the Sarajevo Cathedral seven years ago, emphasizing that “we have no right to forget our history because the vocation of us, local Catholics, is the blood of our martyrs, monks, nuns, priests, seminarians and theologians.” He then spoke about the authentic, witnessing and apostolic life and death of the priest Filip and the nun Cecilia.
After the Holy Mass, those present in the procession went to the memorial cross of two Presnače witnesses of the faith and prayed and sang appropriate songs.
Eventually, they visited the graves of sister Cecilia and parish priest Filip at the Catholic City Cemetery Sveti Marko.
KT
Presnače – May 12, 2022
