Celebration of Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac

I constantly pray to the dear God to take away the heart of stone from our people and give them a heart that knows and wants to love.

The celebration of the blessed Alojzije Stepinac is traditionally held in all parishes of our homeland, and in all parishes of the Croatian-speaking area abroad.

In our parish, the celebration will be held on the Sunday closest to the memorial of our blessed, February 9, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. After the Holy Mass, there will be a communal lunch in our parish hall, for which you can register via the link below, or in person at the parish office during office hours.

APPLICATIONS

Blessed Alojzije Stepinac is a martyr for the faith, having suffered persecution for his Christian principles during the dictatorial ideologies of the Ustasha and communist rule. He is one of the rare church dignitaries who was not afraid to denounce the installed puppet Ustasha government for its crimes against the disenfranchised and defenseless, as well as the communist one for its crimes.

"The most sacred figure of the Church among Croats," as Pope John Paul II called him in 1994, was opposed to two criminal ideologies of the 20th century, and because of this, he was persecuted by everyone, and eventually died from the consequences of poisoning.

Pope Benedict XVI, knowing the difficulties of the times he found himself in, declared "if he is not a saint, who is?", thereby wishing to point out the holiness of the blessed Cardinal's figure.

Let us pray together on this occasion that the Lord will bless us and our people with the same openness of heart and love for others with which our Blessed One protected the disenfranchised of his time.