Pope Benedict XVI is to make his first visit to Croatia as pope next
year.
The archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, announced that
the visit would take place in the first half of 2011.
As details of the trip are being worked out by church and state
officials, one appointment is known - the Pope will pray at the tomb of
Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, an archbishop of Zagreb in the mid-20th
century.
He died in 1960 after persecution by communist authorities and
imprisonment for several years while acting as archbishop. He was
declared a martyr of the Church and beatified by John Paul II in 1997.
Benedict XVI remembered the 50th anniversary of Stepinac's death during a general audience last February.
Meanwhile the Pope’s trip to Spain is eagerly anticipated. The
November 6 – 7 visit has two main focal points – the Cathedral of
Santiago de Compostela in the northwest, and the Holy Family Church in
Barcelona in the northeast.
It is expected that the Pope will speak about the pilgrimage of the Church today and new evangelisation in secularised societies
The visit coincides with a jubilee year at Santiago de Compostela -
the only time when one can enter the Church by way of the "puerta
santa," or holy door.
The Pope will complete the "rite of the pilgrim,"
entering through the "puerta santa," and embracing a statue of St.
James.
He will light incense in the cathedral and later preside over
Mass in the outer Obradoiro Square. An estimated 8,000 pilgrims will be
in the square with many others able to join in by way of large
television screens set up around the city centre.
In Barcelona, the on Sunday, November 7, the Holy Father will meet
privately with the King and Queen of Spain in the Museum Hall of the
church of the "La Sagrada Familia" (Holy Family).
He will celebrate
Mass in the recently completed central nave of the same church.
It is an unfinished structure, but the pope will dedicate it as a
basilica and consecrate the altar. The future basilica, designed by the
famous Catholic architect Antoni Gaudi, ingeniously mixes natural and
religious themes.
It is anticipated that the Pope's homily will include a reference to
Gaudi, and on the relationship between art and faith, the Christian life
and the family as the basic unit of society.
However, a spokesman said
that he motive behind the Pope's visit "is not to support Gaudi’s cause
for beatification," but rather "to consecrate a magnificent work that
has great meaning for the Church in Catalonia."
Many are expected to follow the Mass from the area outside the
church, where they will be able to follow along again by way of large
television screens.
At the conclusion of the celebration, the Pope will address those
gathered outside the basilica and pray the Angelus with them. Later he
will meet with seriously disabled children at a social benefit centre
called Nen Déu.
At the airport on his way out of the country, he will meet with
Spanish president Jose Luis Zapatero and members of the Spanish monarchy
before returning to Rome.
SIC: CIN/IE