Cardinal Schoenborn led a delegation of the Austrian Bishops' Conference in Zagreb where they and their host, Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, the head of the Croatian Bishops' Conference, held mass on the occasion of Zagreb Day.
The Vienna Archbishop also recalled that it was Pope John Paul II who had vigorously advocated European unity.
"What applies for the Catholic Church in Croatia also applies for the Catholic Church in Austria - we are engaged in European integration processes and we would like to continue building European unity," the Austrian dignitary said.
He added that the Catholic community in Austria had always strongly advocated Croatia's admission to the European bloc, as Croatia is a European country.
"The European Union will be European only when Croatia enters it, as Croatia is Europe," the Vienna Archbishop said.
He also spoke about providing religious services for about 80,000 Croats living in Austria and about the 50,000-strong Croat minority, the Burgenland Croats, in that country.
Cardinal Bozanic spoke about the importance of meetings between members of the two bishops' conferences.