Zagreb, (IKA) – The Alitalia aircraft carrying Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Croatia and landed on the runway of the Pleso Airport in Zagreb. The first to enter the aircraft was the Chief of Protocol, Petra Furdek, and the Apostolic Nuncio in the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari, who welcomed the Pope before he left the plane.
Traveling with the Pope on the aircraft were approximately a hundred of his entourage, including members of the security service, 45 journalists and photographers, the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone; the new Substitute of the Secretary of State, Giovanni Angelo Becciu; the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Enio Antonelli, and the General Secretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishoips, Archbishop Nikola Eterović. The Croatian journalist Silvije Tomašević traveled with the Pope.
“It gives me great joy to come among you as a pilgrim in the name of Jesus Christ. I offer my most cordial greetings to the beloved land of Croatia, and as Saint Peter’s Successor I warmly embrace all its inhabitants,” said Pope Benedict XVI at the beginning of his two-day Apostolic Visit to Croatia, which will have the motto “Together in Christ.” In his first address at the Pleso Airport in Zagreb during the welcoming ceremonies, in the presence of the highest officials of the Church and state, the Pope recalled the three pastoral visits by the Blessed John Paul II to Croatia and thanked the Lord for the long history of faithfulness that links Croatia to the Holy See.
“From its earliest days, your Nation has formed part of Europe, and has contributed, in its unique way, to the spiritual and moral values that for centuries have shaped the daily lives and the personal and national identity of Europe’s sons and daughters. In the face of the challenges posed by today’s culture – marked as it is by social differentiation and instability, and by an individualism that gives rise to a vision of life without obligations and a constant search for “private space” – there is a need for convinced witness and active dynamism aimed at promoting the fundamental moral values that underpin social living and the identity of the old Continent. Twenty years after the declaration of independence and on the eve of Croatia’s full integration into the European Union, this country’s remote and recent history can stimulate reflection on the part of all the other peoples of the Continent, helping them, individually and collectively, to preserve and to inject new life into that priceless common heritage of human and Christian values. So may this beloved Nation, in the strength of its rich tradition, help to steer the European Union towards a fuller appreciation of those spiritual and cultural treasures,” said the Pope, recalling that he is also coming to celebrate the First National Day of Croatian Catholic Families with the faithful. “May this important event serve as an opportunity for proposing afresh the values of family life and the common good, for strengthening unity, renewing hope and leading people to communion with God, the foundation of fraternal sharing and social solidarity,” said the Pope. “In view of the challenges confronting the Church and civil society today, I invoke upon this land and all its inhabitants the intercession and assistance of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, the beloved and venerable Shepherd of your people.”
On leaving the aircraft, the Pope was initially welcomed by the Kardum family, consisting of Ivan, the father, Klaudija, the mother, and their five children: Karlo Josip (9), Elizabeta (8), the twins Brigita and Magdalena (6) and Mihael (4) who came from the Parish of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac in Velika Gorica and presented the Pope with flowers. Then the Pope was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Ivo Josipović; the President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Marin Srakić, and the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić.
Also at the airport to welcome the Pope were Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, Parliamentary Speaker Luka Bebić and other government representatives, as well as the bishops of the Croatian Conference of Bishops.
A group of the faithful from the Deaconry of Velika Gorica came to greet the Pope, together with their pastors. The majority of them were wearing folk costumes.
The greetings were followed by the Vatican hymn, Vatikana Inno e Marcia Pontificale, the Croatian hymn and military honors.