ZAGREB, 16 April 2022 - The Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, on Saturday wished a happy Easter to all believers and people of good will, saying that all people in the depth of their hearts want peace.

"We feel this desire especially in these times, strongly marked by the war suffering and victims in Ukraine. We are witness to the spread of suffering in order to create, bring and support unrest and fear," he said.

"In this frightening war noise, everyone is saying that they advocate peace and want to establish peace. But how?" the cardinal said, calling for prayer.

"While we sympathise with the victims of the war, in which the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian citizens are forced to defend their lives and the lives of their dear ones, freedom and the democratic right to self-determination, we are praying for all who can and want to really help in establishing a just peace," Bozanić said in his message, among other things.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanić said in Sisak on Tuesday that one should not stop praying for peace in Ukraine and the whole world.

Speaking at a session of the Zagreb ecclesiastical province at the offices of the Sisak Diocese, Bozanić said the Church was ready to help and take in refugees from Ukraine who were forced to flee their country.

We will provide assistance through the Caritas charity, which is an important segment of the Church, he said.

"It is not difficult for us to understand the situation in Ukraine, that is why we are ready to do everything we can."

"We are joining in Pope Francis' call to pray together and fast for peace in the province and the entire world. Ash Wednesday will be observed in that spirit and many bishops have decided to do so throughout Lent. We must not stop praying for peace. We want what is going on in Ukraine to end as soon as possible even though we cannot predict future developments, but we will do all we can in the spiritual, material and human sense," Cardinal Bozanić said.

ZAGREB, Aug 15, 2020 - In his sermon in the Marian shrine of Marija Bistrica, held on Saturday on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption, Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic said that the family was the institution that had borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Brothers and sisters, as I look at you here, I can see that families prevail. We can say that the family is the institution that has borne the brunt of the crisis in recent months and that it has saved us. When everything stopped, the family remained," Bozanic told the faithful who gathered in Marija Bistrica for the central, open-air mass on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption.

"It is interesting that at a time when attempts are being made to devalue family as an institution, we are again returning to that basic unit of human society. The family saves us," said the dignitary, among other things.