Rijeka, (IKA) – Pope John Paul II visited on June 8, the shrine of Our Lady of Trsat in Rijeka, where he was welcomed by the Franciscan monks and nuns of the shrine, Franciscans of the Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius from throughout Croatia with their provincial, Fra Lucije Jagec, and the guardian of the shrine, Fra Matija Koren. Accompanying the Pope were his entourage, several bishops and Archbishop Ivan Devcic of Rijeka. As the Pope entered the basilica of Trsat, a choir of Franciscan seminarians sang the Polish/Croatian Marian hymn Zdravo Djevo. Fra Matija Koren briefly presented the history of the Trsat shrine and said that the Pope’s visit was a blessing and source of inspiration for the shrine and the Franciscans. He also thanked the Pope for the love and support he has demonstrated for the Church and people of Croatia. In response to this greeting, the Holy Father said that this visit was a precious one for him as well. The Pope then prayed a Marian prayer, after which he prayed the Lord’s Prayer with all present and bestowed his apostolic blessing.
The Franciscans of Trsat presented the Holy Father with a modern reprint of the 1646 edition of Historia Tersattana by Franjo Glavinic, to which was added a portrait of Fra Vendelin Vosnjak, the first provincial of the Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who at one time served as the guardian of the shrine of Trsat. They also presented the Pope with a modern reprint of the 1560 edition of the prayer book Raj duse (Paradise of the Soul) of Katarina Frankopan, to which was added a translation of the Litany in the Polish language as a personal gift to the Pope. Fra Emanuel Hosko greeted the Pope in the Polish language and Fra Serafin Sabol, secretary of the Commission of the Rijeka Archdiocese for the Preparations for the Pope’s Visit, presented the Pope with a Trsat rosary. The central medal of this wooden rosary has a picture of Our Lady of Trsat, while the large Pater Noster beads before each decade (ten Ave beads) have pictures representing the Mysteries of Light that the Holy Father recently introduced into the Rosary prayer.
Members of the Frankopan family also greeted the Holy Father. The Pope expressed his thanks for the gifts, noting that for him his encounter with the Franciscans and the others at the Trsat shrine had been a gift in itself. He then presented rosaries to those who had presented gifts to him. The Pope was also greeted by the nuns who serve at the shrine from the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Holy Cross, Franciscan novices, seminarians and other Franciscans from the Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius.
At the end of the visit to the shrine in Trsat, the Pope blessed the cornerstone of a pastoral center to be built at the shrine, among other objects.