On September 30, 2026, the Conventual Franciscan Province of St. Jerome in Croatia celebrated its annual Province Day. The event took place at the St. Jerome Friary and Church on the island of Vis, Croatia. During this year’s gathering, the friars remembered with gratitude Friar Celestin TOMIĆ on the 20th anniversary of his death. Friar Celestin was an eminent Conventual Franciscan friar, biblical scholar, theologian, and spiritual writer.
Numerous friars from the Province attended the gathering, along with postulants and seminarians accompanied by their formators. His Eminence Cardinal Friar Dominique MATHIEU, OFM Conv., Archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan of the Latins in Iran, presided over the commemorative Mass.
Those concelebrating included the Minister Provincial of the Province of Croatia, Friar Miljenko HONTIĆ, the Guardians of the friaries, many confreres, and the Pastor of the church in Vis, Father Milan ŠARIĆ. The choice of the island gave the day particular significance: Vis is the birthplace of Friar Celestin TOMIĆ, whose life and writings left a profound mark on the Franciscan, theological, and biblical traditions of Croatia.
Before the Mass, Friar Zlatko VLAHEK, Provincial Secretary and Vice-Postulator of the Cause for the beatification and canonization of Friar Celestin TOMIĆ, gave a lecture exploring several aspects of Friar Celestin’s life, focusing in particular on his love for Sacred Scripture, the Church, and the Franciscan vocation.
Friar Celestin TOMIĆ was one of the most significant Croatian biblical scholars of the 20th century. He taught Sacred Scripture and biblical languages, wrote numerous theological and spiritual works, and contributed to translating and revising biblical texts and lectionaries in Croatian. In 2018, the Province of St. Jerome in Croatia opened his Cause for beatification and canonization.
Friar Zlatko emphasized that Friar Celestin’s life reflects the Franciscan spirit of Assisi—a spirit of simplicity, fraternity, service, and an unceasing search for Christ. As the Church and the Franciscan Family commemorate the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi this year, the memory of Friar Celestin also invites the friars to rediscover their vocation through fidelity to Christ, the Church, and the charism of St. Francis.
St. Jerome, the patron saint of the Province of Croatia, was also given particular attention, as his liturgical memorial was celebrated that day. In his homily, Cardinal MATHIEU presented him as a man who spent his entire life seeking to draw closer to Christ and to know him through the Word of God. For Jerome, Sacred Scripture was the path to a personal encounter with Christ, as expressed in his famous statement, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter Scripturae Sacrae affectus, identified love for Sacred Scripture as a distinctive characteristic of St. Jerome’s spirituality.
At the end of the day, the Minister Provincial, Friar Miljenko HONTIĆ, thanked all the friars for their participation and for the fraternity they shared. He extended special thanks to the friars of the Vis community, Friar Žarko MULA and Friar Kristofor ĆORIĆ, for their hospitality and their dedication to organizing the gathering.
The Province Day concluded in a spirit of gratitude to God for the gift of the Franciscan vocation, for the friars who have faithfully served the Church throughout history, and for the new generations who continue their journey. On the island where Friar Celestin TOMIĆ was born, the invitation that unites generations of Franciscans resounded once again: to seek Christ, live his Gospel, and, like St. Francis and St. Jerome, allow the Word of God to shape every aspect of one’s life.
Friar Zlatko VLAHEK
Provincial Secretary
