CROATIAN STATE DELEGATION VISITS ST. JEROME'S PAPAL INSTITUTE

ROME, Oct 29 (Hina) - A Croatian state delegation which is staying in Rome with the President of the Republic on Friday visited the Croatian Papal Institute of St. Jerome's. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman was represented by Nedjeljko Mihanovic, the president of the State Commission for Relations with Religious Communities. The delegation was received by the institute's rector, Monsignor Jure Bogdan. A brief prayer for the homeland was followed by a meeting with Croatian bishops and the clergy, who were headed by the president of the Croatian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop of Zagreb Josip Bozanic, and the titular of the Croatian Church of St. Jerome's, Cardinal Franjo Kuharic. Welcoming the present, rector Bogdan expressed satisfaction with the fact that Croatia had made a successful presentation in the Vatican on Thursday with the exhibition "Croats - Christianity, Culture, and Art." Bogdan also commented on Croatia's relations with the Holy See, pointing to the significance of Croatia's oldest hospice in Rome, St. Jerome's, which was established in 1453 and has become the spiritual and cultural focus of the Croatian people. (hina) ha jn