APOSTOLIC NUNCIO'S OFFICE FORMALLY OPENED IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, March 15 (Hina) - The Office of the Apostolic Nuncio in Zagreb was formally opened this evening. The building was blessed by Archbishop Josip Uhac, the special envoy of the Holy Father and secretary of the Congregation for Evangelization. In his opening remarks, Apostolic Nuncio Msgr. Giulio Einaudi recalled that the Holy See recognized Croatia as an independent state on 13 January 1992 and established diplomatic ties on 8 February of the same year. He added that the Pope sent the first apostolic nuncio to Croatia on 29 February 1992. The building housing the Nuncio's Office was donated to the Holy Father on 10 September when Zagreb Archbishop Cardinal Franjo Kuharic and the chairman of the Committee for the Construction of the Nuncio's Office, Juraj Kolaric, presented its keys to the Holy Father. The Pope blessed the building on 11 September last year, Einaudi said. Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader extended thanks on behalf of the Croatian government for everything Pope John Paul II had done for the independence and international recognition of Croatia. "We hope that the Holy See will also help Croatia this year in resolving the current situation," Sanader said. Kolaric said that it was "the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that the Pope personally blessed a building of the nuncio's office and the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that one nation donated a building of the nuncio's office to be in the permanent ownership of the Holy See." Kolaric presented Uhac with gold and silver coins as a gift to the Holy Father. Besides members of the Croatian Parliament and Government, the opening ceremony was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of religious communities and public figures. (hina) mm vm 152157 MET mar 95