Help for the training of 14 seminarians in Sarajevo

Many of the Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina have now left their country. In fact, their numbers have halved since the last Bosnian War, which ended in 1995. Today, there are only around 400,000 Catholic faithful left, accounting for barely 15% of the total population. Sadly, this wave of emigration continues today, and most of the people who fled the country during the war have not returned. Indeed, for Catholics in this country of Southeast Europe that was formerly a part of communist Yugoslavia, life is becoming ever more difficult.

Despite this, many families do find the courage to return to their home country, especially if Church life has been re-established in their hometowns and villages. Hence, priests play a key role in this situation.

And so there is an urgent need for more priests. At present, there are 14 young men studying for the priesthood in the archdiocesan seminary in Sarajevo. For the Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is a massive challenge to fund the training of these seminarians, most of whom are from poorer rural families, as are most Catholics in the country. Consequently, the Archdiocese of Sarajevo must cover all the costs of their training.

This was always a challenge, even in the past, but in recent years, as a result of the war in Ukraine, prices for energy and food especially have risen sharply, and the country now has one of the highest inflation rates in Europe. There are fears that prices will only continue to increase. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has regularly supported the training of seminarians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and plans to once again support the formation of these future priests with a contribution of $17,640 this year, so that no vocation may be lost for lack of financial means.