The service in Zagreb Cathedral was attended by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, outgoing Parliament Speaker Josip Leko, Prime Minister-Designate Tihomir Oreskovic, and Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, among others.
Christmas teaches us hope and encourages us to stand up for hope, the archbishop said, adding that this hope does not accept offers which diminish human dignity nor agree to shallowness and impersonality.
Christmas also points to responsibility, notably for children and youth, for the elderly, the infirm and the sick, for all of Croatia, the cardinal said.
"A Christian must not act as though world events don't concern them. This Christmas too we will pray... for ourselves, for our family, for relatives, friends and acquaintances, for the needy, the sick and the elderly, for unity in our homeland and for peace in the world," he said, wishing all believers a merry Christmas.