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Some 100,000 people were expected to come from across the region to Sarajevo, a largely Muslim city of 300,000 that was once known as “Europe’s Jerusalem” for its interfaith harmony among Christians, Muslims and Jews. It became synonymous with religious enmity during the 1992-95 conflict that left 100,000 dead and displaced half of the population.
Francis was greeted by Dragan Čović, the Croat member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, and Bosnian Cardinal Vinko Puljić when he arrived on Saturday.
The pontiff said Sarajevo is “a city that has suffered so much in history. But now it is walking along the path to peace,” Francis told reporters en route from Rome. “I’m making this trip as a sign of peace, and as a prayer for peace.”
Streams of pilgrims travelled overnight to the stadium where Francis will celebrate Mass, waking up residents with their songs. Security was tight across the city, where thousands of police officers stood guard along Francis’ motorcade route. Shops and cafes were closed and residents along the route were told not to open their windows or stand on balconies.
Francis said his visit to Bosnia will offer support to its post-war process of reconciliation, and also encourage the tiny Catholic Croat community, which represents only about 15% of the population. Muslim Bosniaks account for 40 percent and Orthodox Christian Serbs 31 percent, according to Vatican statistics.
“I encourage you Catholics to stand beside your countrymen as witnesses to your faith and God’s love, working for a society that walks toward peace, coexistence and collaboration,” Francis said in a video message this week.
On the eve of his visit, Catholics across Bosnia dropped on their knees at an agreed time on Friday evening during candlelit vigils to pray for all those around the world persecuted for their faith.
Drazen Raguz, 51, came with his family from the south of the country. He said: “We hope his visit will seal the peace that has returned after the war and that it will last forever.”
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, noted that the Catholic population had shrunk across Bosnia in part because of the high unemployment rate – 43%, with the youth unemployment at 67%. Scores of Catholics, who hold Croatian passports, have left to find work in the European Union.
“In some of the parishes, there are only a few families left and most of the faithful are elderly,” Parolin said.
Francis will try to encourage those who have stayed, celebrating a mass in the same stadium where St John Paul II presided over an emotional, snow-blown service in 1997 that attracted thousands of Catholic Croats to the city for the first time since the fighting ended.
John Paul had tried to visit Sarajevo during the war, but the trip was called off for security reasons. His willingness to even consider a trip endeared him to a city that felt abandoned and betrayed by the world – sentiments of affection that have been projected onto his successor two decades later.
Francis will also host a meeting with Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish leaders, and preside over a rally for young people before returning to Rome in the evening.
