In attendance at the religious service in the cathedral were top state officials including President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic as well as local city authorities.
During his sermon, Hvar Bishop Petar Palic, said that religious apathy was currently on the rise, and quoted Pope Francis's call for the restoration of faith.
The 1047th feast of Saint Blaise began in that southern Croatian city on Saturday afternoon, with the traditional release of white doves and the raising of the patron saint's flag in front of Saint Blaise's Church.
The local festivity, which takes place in Dubrovnik every February since the 10th century, was inscribed in the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2009.