Zagreb, (IKA) – On May 21, the archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, met with the mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić, and his closest associates at the city hall. The topic was concern for young families and families with several children, more precisely the problem of the shortage of kindergartens, in connection with which a joint project was agreed upon that will be on the agenda at the June session of the city council. Within the framework of mutual cooperation between the city of Zagreb and the Church, there was mention of the joint project for the construction of subsidized housing, according to the principle that the archdiocese will provide the land and the city will build the apartments. At this meeting at the city hall, there was also discussion regarding the initiatives for the Croatian Catholic University and the future diocesan museum.

Welcoming Cardinal Bozanić, Mayor Bandić noted the good cooperation between the city of Zagreb and the archdiocese, and announced support for the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the beatification of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac in September of this year, when Zagreb will be visited by the secretary of state of the Holy See, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who will celebrate Mass on this occasion. The city council has made a decision regarding the settlement of the costs for casting and transporting statues of Mother Teresa of Calcutta by the artist Tome Serafimovski, who gave one to the Vatican and one to the Zagreb Archdiocese.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the mayor presented his guest with an oil painting of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac. The cardinal gave all the members of the city council copies of his book, Truth in Love, as a memento of their first meeting at the city hall.