Milanović: The Pope responded well to the invitation, I think he will come to Croatia

President Zoran Milanović is on an official visit to the Holy See. Together with his wife Sanja Music Milanović, they were received by Pope Leo XIV for a private audience. President Milanović presented the Pope with the Missal according to the law of the Roman court, the first Croatian printed book, and invited him to Croatia.

Milanović invited the Pope to Croatia

“There was no talk of politics at all during the meeting with the Pope. Migrants are a topic that the Pope is concerned with. The conversation was pleasant,” President Zoran Milanović said after the meeting with Pope Leo XIV.

He confirmed that he had invited the Pope to Croatia. “He was handed a formal invitation and he responded well,”Milanović said, adding:

“It is the Pope, not recruitment for a talent show. You will never hear the Pope say - I am coming. He will come; I think he will come to Croatia.”

To an additional question from a journalist, he replied:

“I base this on an assessment, don't be disappointed if he doesn't come.”

When asked if Leo XIV is different from his predecessors, he said:

“So far, it seems to me that this is a Pope who will not engage in politics in the way that his predecessors sometimes did. I do not think that is wrong - but I think that he is different and that he will not be drawn into it.”

When asked by a journalist about the beatification of Cardinal Stepinac, Milanović replied:

“That is an internal matter of the Church, the concept of holiness is something that I do not understand at all and I cannot speak about it.”

Gift to the Pope - the first Croatian printed book

The Croatian president presented Leo XIV with the Missal according to the law of the Roman court from 1483, the first Croatian printed book that was published only 28 years after the first European printed book, the Gutenberg Bible. According to Milanović, he received "a fitting and beautiful gift" from the Pope.

This incunabula is the first European book not printed in Latin letters, in the angular Glagolitic script and in the Croatian language. The date of its printing, February 22, was also declared the Day of the National and University Library in Zagreb, and the institution's logo was chosen to be the angular Glagolitic letter 'Iže' taken from the Missal.

With Parolin on the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, not a word about Stepinac

Milanović met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, with whom he discussed the situation in the region and the position of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conversation highlighted the traditionally good relations between Croatia and the Holy See.

As for the issues that were still discussed, Milanović said that he could not give details. He replied that the burning issues of Ukraine and Gaza were not on the agenda, and that the canonization of Cardinal Stepinac "was not discussed at all".

As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, he repeated that "we still have a situation where one majority nation elects a representative of another nation, and this has been done 4 times so far, and these are four serious violations of the regulations, and if this is not prevented, it will continue. It is normatively illegal, it cannot be like that, but it passes."

Continuing to talk about Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said that it is possible that the issue will have to be worked on with the American administration, but he wondered "what does Bosnia and Herzegovina have to do with the USA."

“This is Europe, and also the ancient Croatian homeland, and not only Croatia. This is a matter for European affairs,” he emphasized.

When asked whether Kosovo was discussed, Milanović reiterated that the Vatican has not recognized Kosovo, saying that the Holy See is "very conservative in these matters" just as five European Union countries have not recognized Kosovo, "each for their own reasons."

Visit to the Pontifical Croatian Institute of St. Jerome

President Zoran Milanović also visited the Pontifical Croatian Institute of St. Jerome, where he met with Croatian students from Catholic universities in Rome. It is the oldest Croatian institution outside the Republic of Croatia, which has been operating continuously for more than 500 years.

In addition to serving Croatian priests in postgraduate studies at Catholic universities in Rome, this institution is also focused on preserving Croatian identity and culture. The institute, whose rector since 2020 is Marko Đurin, is also located next to the Croatian Church of St. Jerome.

Rector of the Pontifical Institute: We all believe that Leo XIV will come to Croatia

“We all believe that Pope Leo XIV will visit Croatia in the coming years,” said the rector of the Pontifical Croatian Institute of St. Jerome Marko Đurin, after the Croatian president, who had previously presented the Pope with an official invitation to visit the Republic of Croatia, visited the institution at the end of his official stay in the Vatican.

“We all hope that this will happen, it is difficult to say when, but I believe in the coming years,” Rector Đurin, who has been at the helm of the oldest Croatian institution outside the Republic of Croatia since 2020, which has been operating continuously for more than 500 years, told reporters.

“We are glad that the president came here, as part of his visit to the Holy See, that he included our institution in his visit and testified to the closeness that we as the Croatian people have with the Holy See and the Holy Father,” he said, adding that he is always pleased when those who lead our country visit the institute.

He pointed out that around five hundred Croatian priests have passed through the Pontifical Croatian Institute of St. Jerome since 1901, when it existed in its current form.

“Today, we have a good part of the bishops in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a large part of the professors at theological faculties who were priests and students in Rome and members of our institute,” he said, calling it a 'house' in which Croatian priests are formed and prepared for future service in the homeland.

Source: HRT