Dubrovnik, May 21, 2003 (IKA) — The preliminary design for the platform upon which Pope John Paul II will celebrate the Eucharist at Gruz Harbor in Dubrovnik on June 6, 2003, is the work of the architect Stjepo Butijer of Dubrovnik. According to his concept, this space will be determined by symbols of the Pope, Vatican, Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik Diocese and the Republic of Croatia.
The Vatican and Papacy will be symbolized by a throne with the Papal coat-of-arms, a floral arrangement in the yellow and white colors of the Vatican banner, below which will dominate the color blue — the color of the sea, and the sailboats and boats from which some of the faithful will follow the celebration of the Eucharist.
The Dubrovnik Diocese and the city of Dubrovnik will be represented by a large painting of St. Blaise, the patron saint of the city and diocese, and Our Lady, a copy of a work by the Dubrovnik Renaissance painter Nikola Bozidarevic, the orginal of which is kept in the Church of St. Mary in Dance.
The Republic of Croatia, which the Pope will be visiting for the third time, will be symbolized by the use of Croatian braid (pleter) and the cross from the baptismal font of the Croatian ruler Viseslav on the altar, and the use of Croatian braid on the stone ambo and the Easter candlestick. The centuries of Croatian Catholicism will be symbolized by an excerpt of the Lord’s Prayer from an old missal in the Latin and Croatian languages.
In the back of the altar will be the miraculous cross of Pridvorje, a large picture of the Venerable Servant of God Mary of Jesus Crucified Petkovic, and a stone obelisk with other parts of the cross that was toppled on Mt. Srdj, overlooking Dubrovnik. This broken cross is a symbol of Dubrovnik’s recent past. It was erected in commemoration of the 1,900th anniversary of the birth of Christ and demolished during the Serbian-Montenegrin attack against Dubrovnik on December 6, 1991. Parts of the cross, which the Pope will bless, will be incorporated into the stone foundation of a new church and pastoral center to be built in the Dubrovnik Diocese. After the ceremony of the beatification of Marija Petkovic, her relics will be brought to the platform, where they will remain until the end of the Mass.