Ružić visits Croatian community in Romania

After visiting Croats in Serbia, Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Alen Ružić has arrived in Romania, where he met with representatives of the Croatian national minority and attended Holy Mass in Karaševo.

"As a representative of the Government of the Republic of Croatia visiting the Croatian national minority in Romania, I am delighted to hear the Croatian language and attend Mass here, where Croatian tradition has been preserved for more than 600 years," Ružić said.

He also highlighted the ongoing renovation of a church serving the local Croatian community, saying it demonstrated the community's resilience and commitment to preserving its heritage.

"The renovation of the county's largest church — specifically, a church belonging to the Croats — sends a message about our people's resilience in continuing to preserve their tradition," he said.

Ružić also pointed to a detail connecting the community with Croatia.

"A notable detail of the church renovation — beyond the language aspect — is the use of stone from Imotski. Such a strong connection at all levels cannot fail to encourage us," he said.

Reverend Milan Sima described the ongoing work at the Church of Saints Philip and James in Klokotić, which he said is the largest church serving the Croatian community in the county.

"We are renovating the church. The altars were old — some had burned down — and now we need four new ones. We are also renovating the flooring; we still need to lay the stone," Sima said.

After attending Mass and meeting with parishioners, Ružić toured Klokotić and Lupak. He also met with religious representatives and members of the Croatian ethnic minority in Caraș-Severin County.