Relics of the Blessed Aloysius Stepinac returned to the Zagreb Cathedral

Before being returned to the Zagreb Cathedral, the relics made a stop at Karmel in Brezovica, where Holy Mass was celebrated. The relics were brought the cathedral in a ceremonial procession led by members of the Honorary Guard of the Fire Department of the City of Zagreb.

On Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family, the Archbishop of Zagreb, Mons. Dražen Kutleša led a solemn Eucharistic celebration marking the closing of the Holy Jubilee Year and the return of the relics of the Blessed Aloysius Stepinac to the Zagreb Cathedral. Prior to the Mass Archbishop Kutleša welcomed the relics in front of the cathedral, after they had been on display for a month for worship by the faithful in the Blessed's native Parish of the Holy Trinity in Krašić.

“After years of silence, absence and waiting, and diligent work on the renovation, they once again entered the vaults of the cathedral, recalling how the relics of the Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, as a sign of unity, fidelity and hope, have now been returned to this cathedral, to his home, the heart of our archdiocese,” the Archbishop said.

“As we close this Holy Year, let us open a new chapter in our history marked by hope. Let us do so by remembering once again the spiritual legacy of the Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, whose figure never ceases to enlighten us, but also to question us,” he added.

The Archbishop went on to say that the Blessed Stepinac continues to serve as a shepherd for his flock: “Today we turn our gaze forward, towards the future, grateful for the gifts of grace that we have received from the treasury of the Church's prayers during the Holy Jubilee Year and with the wish that the rivers of grace and spiritual goods will not cease to flow in our people, and this wish is entrusted to Stepinac, who remains a model of a shepherd who sympathizes with his people and believes in their future despite difficulties and challenges.”

Mons. Kutleša also called on those gathered to ensure that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph remains a model for building happy family relationships, but also for a correct social order, because Stepinac also believed that the order of the family lays the foundations of true peace in the world.

“May this cathedral in its renovation be a symbol of the Church that is constantly being renewed and does not falter under wounds because it knows that God's strength works precisely in weakness. May this place of the final resting place of Blessed Aloysius once again become a space for our gatherings, prayer and communion,” he said.

"As long as the Church in Croatia follows the testimonies of a pure conscience like that given by the life of the Blessed Aloysius, its future will not be uncertain, but blessed," Archbishop Kutleša concluded.

The liturgical singing at the mass was led by the Choristers of the Zagreb Cathedral under the direction of Miroslav Martinjak, accompanied by the organist Prof. Neven Kraljić and the Brass Quintet of students from the Academy of Music.

Source: HRT