ZAGREB, Dec 14 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic is travelling to the Vatican on Sunday afternoon at the head of a Croatian delegation which will present the Pope with a 27-metre Christmas tree, Croatia's gift to the Vatican, in St.
Peter's Square on December 17.
ZAGREB, Dec 14 (Hina) - President Stjepan Mesic is travelling to the
Vatican on Sunday afternoon at the head of a Croatian delegation
which will present the Pope with a 27-metre Christmas tree,
Croatia's gift to the Vatican, in St. Peter's Square on December 17.
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The "Pope's spruce" arrived in St. Peter's Square on Monday.
Croatia has also presented the Vatican with some 30 smaller trees
which are adorning the Holy See's offices.
The coordinator of this gift-giving project is the Croatian Foreign
Ministry. The project also involves the ministries of forestry,
transport, the interior, and finances, and the Croatian Forests
company.
The Holy Father will receive President Mesic on Monday morning. The
Croatian delegation, which also includes the president of the
government's commission for relations with religious communities,
Goran Granic, and Agriculture Minister Bozidar Pankretic, will
then hold talks with the Holy See's state secretary, Angelo
Sodano.
The central ceremony in the Vatican is set to take place on Tuesday
when Mesic will officially present John Paul II with the Christmas
tree and give a brief speech. The president of the Croatian Bishops
Conference, Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, will also make an
address. Some 500 pilgrims from Croatia are expected to arrive to
the event, as are many Croats living and working in Italy.
Croatia's selection as the country presenting the Pope with the
Christmas tree is important politically, symbolically, as well as
from a promotional point of view.
The Italian press and RAI state television dedicated extensive
coverage to the setting of the tree in St. Peter's Square, dubbing
it "Croatia's ambassador". The media also stated the tree reminds
the Pope of his visit to Croatia next May or June.
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