Rijeka, (IKA) – More than ten thousand pilgrims from Slovenia and Croatia assembled on Saturday, August 18, at the third joint Croatian-Slovenian pilgrimage with the motto “Together to the Mother of Grace” at the Marian shrine at Trsat in Rijeka. The celebration of the Eucharist in the garden of Our Lady of Trsat was led by the president of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Cardinal Josip Bozanić of Zagreb, together with the president of the Slovenian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Alojzije Uran, Slovenian and Croatian arch/bishops and 160 priests. In words of greeting at the beginning of the Mass, Cardinal Bozanić emphasized that this Croatian-Slovenian pilgrimage to Our Lady of Trsat “is a sign and expression of our Catholic community.” He urged the assembled pilgrims to pray for the family, especially for children and the young. The host, Archbishop Ivan Devčić of Rijeka, reminisced about the common fate that these two Churches and nations have shared throughout history, especially in the territories of Istria and Kvarner, as well as their common struggle to preserve our own distinctiveness, which many wanted to take away from us, “but precisely due to our mutual assistance and cooperation, they did not succeed in this, although they were dominant in all respects.” “I believe that we shall be able to draw a message from our common past for the future, in which we shall be no less conversant with each other in the attempt to preserve our faith and identity before the onrush of increasing globalization and many other very clever means of conquest and subjugation,” said Archbishop Devčić.

During the sermon, Bishop Metod Pirih of Koper urged support for the family, which is the “basic particle of the Church and our society.” There is no future without children. Without concrete help from politics, without just laws, without good social organization, it will be difficult to fulfill the desire for large families, emphasized Bishop Pirih. He also cautioned that the world in which we live is not supportive of life and therefore many of our parishes are demographically endangered. The bishop of Koper said that we must value, cultivate, defend and preserve life from conception to natural death, and that it is necessary for unborn children to have the right to life. “We must know that a large number of children in a family are a sign of God’s special blessing. If we want life to continue after us, for history to continue, for faith to be transmitted, for our fields and vineyards to be cultivated, for our roots not to be forgotten, for us not to dissipate our young countries, then we need to invest much more in life than in banks and insurance, excursions, travels and other pleasures. We Christians must think about all of this before God and our consciences,” emphasized Bishop Pirih. “Married couples will have more children if they discover that life with God and in faith is the highest value, if they believe that God himself has invited them to participate actively in the creation of new life, if parents see not only their own image in their children but also that of God, if they believe in the words of Jesus: ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,’ if they understand that the spiritual calling is more often born in large families than where there are few children, if they believe that with the arrival of one hungry mouth in the world comes two hardworking hands, if they discover that it is much easier to raise a large number of children than one or two, if they understand that children from large families are more compassionate and socially mature due to their mutual relationships, and finally if they calculate that the amount of their pensions will depend upon the number of persons employed in the future,” said the bishop of Koper.

In words of gratitude at the end of the Mass, Archbishop Uran mentioned that the Croatian-Slovenian pilgrimages that are organized every other year began within the preparations for the Central European Catholic Day in Mariazell, May 22, 2004, with the intention of strengthening the common Christian roots of the old continent. Announcing that the fourth joint Croatian-Slovenian pilgrimage will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2009, in the medieval Cistercian abbey of Stična, Slovenia, Archbishop Uran concluded with the words: “See you in Stična!” Among the distinguished guests at the celebration on behalf of Croatia were the vice president of the Croatian Parliament, Đurđa Adlešić; Minister Ivan Šuker on behalf of the Croatian Government, Mayor Vojko Obersnel of Rijeka and the deputy county prefect of Promorje-Gorski Kotar County, Luka Denona.

The first Croatian-Slovenian pilgrimage took place in the summer of 2003 at the Croatian national shrine of Our Lady of Bistrica, and the second was held in 2005 at the Slovenian shrine of Our Lady of Brezje.