Brezje (IKA) — A Slovenian-Croatian pilgrimage at the Slovenian National Shrine of Marija Pomagaj (Mary of Perpetual Help) in Brezje, was held on Saturday, September 24, with the motto: “Our Common Faith Binds Us Together.”

The celebration of the Holy Mass was led by the president of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Cardinal Josip Bozanić of Zagreb, together with the nuncio to Slovenia, Archbishop Santos Abril y Casatello, all the Slovenian bishops, ten Croatian bishops, approximately 140 priests and more than seven thousand pilgrims, of whom approximately 5,000 were Croatians. Archbishop Alojzij Uran of Ljubljana greeted and welcomed everyone. Divine providence has made us neighbors and thereby given us the great responsibility of mutual neighborly cooperation. Despite all our differences and certain questions that are still unresolved, we Christians are bound together by the same faith and the same love toward Mother Mary. We have assembled here under the motto “Our Common Faith Binds Us Together,” which must bind us together not only at this joint celebration but also in the future, so that as Christians we can attempt to achieve coexistence and cooperation among all people and nations.

Cardinal Bozanić thanked Archbishop Uran for his greeting and welcome, which pointed out how the Croatian and Slovenian nations are bound together by the gospel and the common veneration of the Virgin Mary. He noted that the Catholics and politicians of both countries have important callings in their attempts for the good of both nations.

The sermon was delivered by Metropolitan Archbishop Marin Barišić of Split-Makarska. It is good that we are neighbors. At one time, within the old Kingdom and the new federation [the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia], borders restrained us and [the communist syntagma of] “brotherhood and unity” drew us apart from each other. Today in Brezje, we faithful sons and daughters of the same Catholic Church are even more conscious that we are not merely neighbors according to geography and borders but are much more. We are closer, relatives. Through Mother Mary we are brothers and sisters, emphasized the archbishop of Split-Makarska. Referring to the Gospel according to Luke in which Joseph and Mary search for and find the lost Jesus, Archbishop Barišić compared this search with the search for Jesus in our lives.

Mother Mary provides not only an example of searching but also of the richest encounter with Jesus, who came to search for us. He wants to bring us to the temple, the place of encounter with the Lord. We pilgrims find Jesus in the temple of the Word, especially at the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. Nazareth is our everyday life, the place and time of our lives, the place of our borders and temporal limitations. Nazareth is the mystery of the growing up of the incarnate God among us, the mystery of the salvation of creatures and creation from insignificance and restraints. O Europe of Nazareth, does He have a place in your Constitution? The joyful news of Christ was the inner strength with which Europe always found itself through many misfortunes and difficulties, which renewed its heart and countenance, bearing the fruits of Christian love, even outside of its borders, said the archbishop. The Slovenian, Croatia and European spiritual and cultural community has grown from the encounter with Jesus, from deep Christian roots. Christ is the ongoing inspiration for us to build our community and cooperate with him in our Nazarene family of European peoples. We are witnesses these days that the young, seeking Him at Marienfeld in Cologne, came to bow down to him, which is a good sign for the future of Europe and the world, noted Archbishop Barišić.

The Mass was celebrated in the Croatian and Slovenian languages. A Slovenian choir sang together with the Croatian choir from the shrine of Trsat. Symbolic gifts were presented from three Croatian metropolises and three Slovenian dioceses.

At the end of the Mass, the pilgrims were addressed by the president of the Slovenian Conference of Bishops, Bishop Franc Kramberger of Maribor. Speaking about the celebration of the Year of the Eucharist and the holy day of the Blessed Slomšek, he emphasized the heritage of the common Christian faith that binds us together, particularly Marian piety. If the Marija Bistrica was Brezje in Croatia two years ago, today Brezje is Marija Bistrica in Slovenia, said Bishop Kramberger, explaining that two years ago there were more Slovenians than Croatians assembled in the Croatian national shrine of Marija Bistrica, and today in Brezje there were more Croatians than Slovenians, an indication of the importance of pilgrimages to the neighboring countries. Stressing common Christian and neighborly relations, he noted that Slovenians and Croatians in their history have shared a common Way of the Cross, during which, as he mentioned, over a hundred thousand patriots died. The Slovenian and Croatian nations are also linked by their aspirations for independent states, that we fulfilled fifteen years ago, said Bishop Kramberger. In this context, he also mentioned unresolved questions between the two states, which he said must not be allowed to divide us. We are also connected by our two beati, the Blessed Stepinac and the Blessed Slomšek. Today we are experiencing the joyful unity of differences: different languages and cultures but the same faith. Our future is together in the European community of nations, said the president of the Slovenian Conference of Bishops.

Prior to the devotion of the Angelus, Cardinal Bozanić spoke of the faith that binds, that creates community. The treasure that we carry within ourselves is our common Catholic faith, that has assembled us today in this beautiful shrine, the faith that binds people together and unifies them, like nothing else in this world can, creating God’s great family from various nations, connecting countries and continents. We faithful are people who want to walk on earth with eyes that see reality realistically but we are also believers who keep our eyes fixed toward heaven and believe that it is possible to solve all problems. We want everyone to deliver the message from this pilgrimage that we have experienced here, the message of community and connection, particularly community and connection between two Catholic nations — the Croatian and Slovenian nations, said Cardinal Bozanić.

The pilgrimage began with the Rosary. Following the celebration of the Mass, which was broadcast simultaneously by Radio Ognjišče and Croatian Catholic Radio, a cultural program was presented in which the Slovenian Octet from Ljubljana and the vocal ensemble (klapa) Nostalgija of Zagreb performed. The pilgrimage concluded with a joint prayer, led in the basilica in Brezje by Bishop Valter Župan of Krk.

The pilgrimage of the two nations was organized within the framework of Central European Catholic Day, which at a time of European cohesion has brought together eight countries of this part of the old continent. The first Croatian-Slovenian encounter was held in 2003 at the Croatian national Marian shrine in Marija Bistrica. Last year they also joined with other nations in a pilgrimage to the Austrian shrine of Mariazell.