Zagreb, (IKA) – On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Franjo Šeper, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, will concelebrate a Requiem Mass with the archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, on Friday, January 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the Zagreb cathedral. Cardinal Levada is also bringing a special message from Pope Benedict XVI, which will be read during the Mass.

Cardinal Franjo Šeper was born on October 2, 1905 in Osijek. He studied theology in Zagreb and Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1930. After returning from Rome, he served as a secondary school catechist for several years. He was also the secretary of Archbishop Antun Bauer and Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac. From 1941 to 1951, he served as the rector of the Archdiocesan Theological Seminary, during the war years and difficult postwar period. He was ordained a bishop in 1954 and appointed as the archbishop of Zagreb following the death of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac in 1960. In 1965, Pope Paul VI inducted him into the College of Cardinals. In 1968, the same Pope appointed him to serve as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, an office that he filled until December 1981. He was succeeded by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Šeper died in Rome on December 30, 1981 and was buried in the Zagreb cathedral on January 5, 1982.