Zadar, (IKA) – “We welcome you with our voices and hearts, with thunderous song, even more powerful than sung by our ancestors in 1177, who welcomed your predecessor, Pope Alexander III, to this city. Your pastoral visit to Zadar is a sign of your love for us. In you we see Peter, who confirms his brothers in their faith,” said Archbishop Ivan Prendja of Zadar, as he welcomed the Holy Father John Paul II. Archbishop Prendja noted that the Zadar Archdiocese is commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Anastasia, which testifies to the depth of its Christian roots, which are the source of its present and future. This archdiocese still bears the wounds from the 20th century and the three wars that grievously afflicted its people and sacral objects, said the archbishop, adding that the difficulties of transition are not inconsiderable and the challenges of a consumer society are acutely felt by the local Church in Zadar. These challenges have a particular impact upon young people. “On the other hand, Holy Father, we see and experience powerful signs of hope,” said the archbishop. He also noted that this is the Year of Adult Catechesis in the Zadar Archdiocese, in keeping with the Pope’s emphasis upon the new evangelization. “Here before you today, we can bear witness to its fruits. We can testify to our experience: the faith preached by the apostles, transmitted for nearly two millennia in the parish communities, intensified and transmitted by us today via the old and new Church movements that Your Holiness accepts and promotes,” said the archbishop of Zadar. He also mentioned that with the growth of the new Church movements there is also growth in the faith of the individuals in the parish communities and a multiplication of families that accept life and in which religious callings are born. The Zadar Archdiocese has announced that the family will be the center of pastoral efforts during the coming year.
Archbishop Prendja also pointed out to the Holy Father that there is a visible synthesis of faith and culture in the city of Zadar, citing the example of the 14th century Dominican university, which was restored this year. He also spoke about the Christian bond between Zadar and Poland: in the opinion of some historians, it was from Zadar that the first missionaries came to Poland and the image of St. Hedwig, Queen of Poland and Lithuania, can be seen on the sarcophagus of St. Simeon.
“Holy Father, as I thank you on behalf of all the faithful of this archdiocese for your pastoral visit, I pledge fidelity to Christ, to you and to the Church, because we are a people of St. Peter. This unforgettable day of your visit will be a source of new inspiration in the life of this local Church,” said Archbishop Ivan Prendja at the conclusion of his address to the Holy Father at the Forum in Zadar.