The mass was officiatedby Subotica Catholic Bishop Franjo Fazekaš, with a few hundred church-goers, clad in traditional costumes, walking through the centre of Subotica before they entered the cathedral to attend the religious rites.
The leader of the Bunjevci Croats Association (UBH), priest Andrija Anišić, said that the local Croat community was committed to preserving the traditional rites and customs.
Addressing the central ceremonies which attracted a few thousand spectators in Subotica, the head of the Croatian National Council (HNV) in Serbia, Jasna Vojnić, who is a member of the Croatian parliament, spoke about the importance of Dužijanca, as thanksgiving ceremonies and traditional rites observed by ethnic Croats in northern Serbian province of Vojvodina.
Bunjevci Croats in northern Bačka celebrate Dužijanca from late April to mid-August, when the central event is held in Subotica.
The first written records about a mass on the occasion of Dužijanca date back to 1911.