ZAGREB METROPOLIS MARKS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

ZAGREB, May 31 (Hina) - Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic celebrated the Eucharist at the Zagreb cathedral on Saturday on the day of the Croatian capital's patron saint, Our Lady of the Stone Gate, thus ending celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Zagreb Metropolis. #L# Part of the ceremony included a procession with a picture of Our Lady of the Stone Gate from the cathedral to the nearby Stone Gate (Kamenita vrata) in downtown Zagreb. Attending the ceremony were numerous priests and all Zagreb Metropolis bishops, as well as Banja Luka, Bosnia, bishop Franjo Komarica, and the apostolic nuncio to Croatia, Giulio Einaudi, who read out a blessing the pope gave to mark the Zagreb Metropolis jubilee. Speaking about the importance of the Holy Father's impending visit to Croatia, Archbishop Bozanic said it would be in the sign of the family. The name of the June tour, "The Family - the Path of the Church and the People", stresses the importance family has in the life of every community, he said. (hina) ha sb