Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow will have an honor for the third time to host the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, who comes to BiH as a statesman and on a pastoral visit under the motto "Peace be with you" with the aim to convey the message of peace, coexistence, dialogue and mutual understanding. 

The message of peace is the basic determinant of the Pope's pastoral visits around the world, as was the case with his predecessor John Paul II, who visited Bosnia and Herzegovina on two occasions – he came to Sarajevo immediately after the war in 1997 and to Banja Luka in 2003. 

The visit of Pope Francis is expected in BiH with an open heart, primarily by the Catholics, but also BiH political officials and all other citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And not just that - Bosnia and Herzegovina will also welcome tourists and believers from other countries who will attend the Pope's addresses in Sarajevo, primarily at the Eucharistic celebration to be held at the Koševo Stadium. 

As the Pope's visit this time is of state and pastoral nature, his one-day visit to Sarajevo will be filled with numerous meetings and events. 

The Holy Father will be welcomed at the Sarajevo International Airport by Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Cardinal Vinko Puljić and the BiH Presidency member Dragan Čović, who are the leaders of the church and the state committee for the preparation of the Pope's visit. 

What follows is the official state welcoming ceremony in front of the Presidency and Pope Francis will meet with the highest BH officials. The main event will be a two-hour Eucharistic celebration at the Koševo Stadium with the preaching of the Holy Father. 

The Holy Mass will be concelebrated by all the bishops from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as most of the bishops coming from Croatia who also arrived in Sarajevo, led by the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, and the Mass will be attended by the Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hočevar. 

The mass is expected to gather some 65,000 faithful, of whom 34,000 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 23,000 from Croatia and around 2500 from Serbia. The rest will come from many other countries. 

The Pope will deliver a special message to the priests, monks and nuns at the Sarajevo Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, followed by an ecumenical meeting with representatives of Islamic, Orthodox and Jewish religious communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a meeting with about 4,500 young people. 

The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the past several days has been overwhelmed with the atmosphere of the upcoming visit of the Pope. The streets are covered with posters of his arrival with the logo "Peace be with you", and Vatican flags, while in the shops, especially in Bašćarsija sell numerous souvenirs with the image of the Holy Father.

When it comes to the security aspect, it has been placed at the highest level. 

Some 6,000 members of the police, security and intelligence services and members of the Armed Forces will be engaged for the security purposes. 

The city administration also closed down all the outdoor cafes and removed the garbage containers, while the citizens of Sarajevo and all the tourists are invited to go out on Saturday, take to the streets and greet the Pope. 

Cardinal Vinko Puljić said on the eve of this important visit to Pope Francis that he did not randomly choose Bosnia and Herzegovina of all the invitations he received in Europe. 

- Surely, this gesture means a new hope, support, challenge and encouragement that the world and European leaders must not forget Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that local leaders must seriously deal with resolving the situation in the country. Also, to encourage us, the bishops and the Catholic Church to courageously tackle the challenges of everyday life - said Puljić. 

The Holy Father in his message from the Vatican recorded on the eve of the visit said that he arrives in BiH with the intention to reaffirm the Catholic faithful in their faith, to express support for ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, but above all to encourage people to peaceful coexistence in BiH. 

- I am willing to come among you as a brother, and a messenger of peace and to share with everyone, and I stress, with everyone, my respect and friendship. I would like to convey to every person, every family, every community God's mercy, caring and love - said Pope Francis in his message to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.