Zagreb (IKA) – The Chairman of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who is also the custos of the Holy Land, visited Croatia on the occasion of a biblical-archeological museum exhibition at the Franciscan monastery in Cernik near Nova Gradiška.

The custos of the Holy Land began his first trip to Croatia on April 14 with an evening celebration of the Eucharist in the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Zagreb. The concelebrants were the provincial of the Croatian Franciscan Province of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Fr. Lucije Jagec; an archeologist from the Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archeology in Jerusalem, Prof. Stanislao Loffreda; the Commissariat of the Holy Land for the Zagreb Province, Fra Željko Železnjak; and the guardian, Fra Rajko Gelemanović. The Mass was conducted by Fra Darko Tepert, a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archeology in Jerusalem.
In response to a question from Fra Darko, Fr. Pizzaballa presented the historical development of the Custody of the Holy Land that since the 14th century and officially by a mandate from the Holy See is in charge of the holy places on behalf of the entire Catholic Church. Various types of activities by the Franciscans in the Holy Land were also presented, such as the direct maintenance of pilgrimage sites, and care for Christians in the Holy Land, i.e. in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus. This care concerns ordinary pastoral work as well as a series of social initiatives in an attempt to keep the domestic Christians, the majority of whom are of Palestinian ancestry, in the Holy Land. He also presented other forms of Catholic presence in this area, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and several special forms of activity, particularly those in reference to Catholic communities who speak the Hebrew language, within which he had worked himself prior to being appointed as the custos of the Holy Land.
At the end, he thanked all the assembled believers, and via them all the believers in Croatia, who help his brothers in the Holy Land with their contributions for the Grave of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
That evening, the custos of the Holy Land had a meeting with Franciscan youth, at which he spoke about how various Catholic ceremonies are adapted to the new reality of a Jewish-Catholic community, taking into account the traditions that are important today in Judaism.
In the Franciscan juniorate, he also met with young Franciscans who were particularly interested in how Franciscans live in the Holy Land today.

On Friday, April 15, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa held a meeting with the provincial ministers of the Southern Slavic Conference of Croatian Provincials, at which the Commissariat the Holy Land for the Zagreb Province, Fra Željko Železnjak, submitted an exhaustive report on the funds that were collected during the past year from the territory of this Conference for the benefit of the Holy Land. There was also discussion on promoting and escorting pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The custos presented some plans for the next two years and once again expressed his gratitude for the contributions that the Holy Land receives from the Republics of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That afternoon, the custos of the Holy Land opened a biblical-archeological exhibition in Cernika. The next day, he participated in a scientific meeting: The Holy Land as the Archeological, Sociological and Religious Context of the Bible.
During his stay in Croatia, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa granted interviews to Croatian Catholic Radio and the weekly Catholic newspaper, Glas Koncila.