Saint Bono Reunited With Vukovar
In official Catholic Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood. A candidate has to become Venerable, which equals a title stating that the deceased was recognized as having lived heroically. The next steps are being Blessed and, with charitable virtues and at least one miracle added to the individual's intercession, he or she can then be declared a Saint. Thisfinal step is called canonization.
Among the different categories of Saints are Patron Saints, those selected as special protectors or guardians over certain areas of life, such as occupations, craft, health, regions and cities, or anything else important to mankind. These Saints were purposely chosen because of their social involvement and charitable work during their lifetime and are believed to have the power to guard and shield their followers from evil and misfortune, as well as bringing them spiritual relief.
Throughout history, many towns and cities have selected a Patron Saint to protect their citizens and Vukovar, a once wealthy city in the northeast part of the Republic Of Croatia, favored St. Bono as its protector. Saint or Sveti Bono was originally a warrior who lived in the 1st Century. Inspired by a new religion, Bono switched his sword for a cross and started to dedicate his life to Christianity. This was an action deemed as treasonous by the Roman emperor Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (253 to 268), who ordered Bono’s death.
For many centuries, the remains of Saint Bono were located in Rome, but thanks to the involvement of Josip Janković, the body was brought to Vukovar on June 24rd, 1754 and kept in the church of Sv. Filip i Jakov. Unfortunately, during the War of Independence members of the Serbian army, who were occupying Vukovar, opened the casket. Irritated that there were no valuable treasures they burned the casket and its contents. By miracle one bone survived the tragedy and is now carried around the city in a procession once a year, on June 24th, the day the martyr’s body was brought to Vukovar.