Pope Francis receives chair of Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović, on Wednesday morning. Čović is the current occupant of the head position in a rotating collegial presidency, composed of three members: a Bosnian, a Croat, and a Serb, who serve together for a four-year term.

The rotating system was put in place in 1996, as part of the constitutional settlement that brought an end to the 1992-1995 conflict in the former Yugoslavia, which was the worst fighting in Europe since the end of World War II.

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In remarks to the President, Pope Francis said that the example of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one from which the Holy Father himself has learned much: about the capacity to suffer; to forgive and to strive for forgiveness; to come together and work for the common good; to dialogue. “Thank you so much for these examples, which you give to humanity,” said Pope Francis.

The Holy Father also asked the chairman of the Presidency to bring greetings to his colleagues in the office, and to extend a special word of greeting to the young people of the country. “Greet the good young people for me,” he said, recalling the questions they put to him during his visit to the city of Sarajevo earlier this year. “They are,” he said, “the promise of your homeland.”

Pope Francis concluded his remarks with a promise of prayer and with a blessing: “Now we ask God, the God of all, God the Father of all, that He bless us, bless our lives, bless our homes, bless our families, bless our children and bless the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”