The 176-page biography vividly depicts the holiness and Spartan lifestyle of Fr Ante Gabrić, whom Mother Teresa (now St Teresa of Calcutta) hailed as the “living love of Jesus.” Fr Ante’s tomb at Maria Palli has become a place of pilgrimage, which people of all faiths visit to pray for his intercession. To Croatians and to the faithful of Baruipur Diocese, he’s already a saint. He set sail for India on October 20, 1938, at 23. On October 20, 1988, exactly fifty years later, he breathed his last at Mariapalli parish, which he had founded on January 20, 1975.
Category: Croatian spirituality
Dr. Vesna Bosanac 1949-2022 Croatian hero of the city of Vukovar
Dr. Vesna Bosanac was born in 1949 in the city of Subotica, and her family moved to the Borovo Naselje near Vukovar when she was less than 1 year old. Her grandmother was Bunjevci Croatian. Since July 1991, during the Serbian military aggression on Croatia, she was emolyed as the director of the famous Vukovar Hospital. Until the end of 1991, during the most savage bombing and shelling of the city, The Vukovar Hospital took care of about 4000 people. About 2250 people underwent difficult and long term operations. Each day approximately 700 (seven hundred) granades was falling on the building of the hospital.
Hrvojka Mihanovic Salopek: Digital Recording of the Croatian Mariological Heritage
This cultural project is carried out under the auspices of the Committee for Education, Science and Culture of the Croatian Parliament and the Council for Culture of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. Videos are published in English and Croatian (Digital Recording of the Croatian Mariological Heritage, i.e., Digitalno snimanje hrvatske marijanske baštine). The Project leader, scenarist and director: Hrvojka Mihanović-Salopek, Ph.D., employed at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb.
Vesna Skulic Croatian cinderella participating in White Path humanitarian action in BiH 1993
Vesna Škulić is living in the village of Ražanac near the city of Zadar, Croatia. As an amateur radio operator, she She trasfered more than hundred thosand humanitarian messages. She actively participated in solving numerous problems related to the humanitarion action of White Path in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. According to late Professor Slobodan Lang, Zagreb, who was the chief organizer of the action, this was the first ever successful joint Christian – Muslim humanitarian operation in history. Vesna Skulić, a courageos and charming Croatian woman, is a paraplegic.
Our Lady of the Stone Gate in Croatia's capital Zagreb
The scholarly educational film Our Lady of the Stone Gate in Zagreb , prepared by Dr. Hrvojka Mihanović Salopek, shows the historical veneration of the Mother of God in Zagreb and presents a cultural travelogue through the oldest and most beautiful shrines in Zagreb. The film presents valuable images of Our Lady, as well as statues stored in Zagreb museums. Special attention is paid to rare books and manuscripts preserved in the Metropolitan Library of the Archdiocese of Zagreb, National and University Library and the Museum of the City of Zagreb and to the recitation of old verses.
Ivanka Bubalo i njezina bijela kosuljica jos bdiju nad Bosnom
Ivanka Bubalo je poput ostalih Plehančana protjerana s Plehana, ali se ona nikad nije rastala, ni svojim umom ni srcem odvojila ni od Plehana, ni od Plehančana. Susreti s Ivankom bili su bogatstvo. Opredijeljena za trajne vrijednosti, bila je pravi prijatelj, u svakom, baš svakom našla je bar zrnce dobra. Krhka izgledom, snažna duha, spremna svakom i uvijek pomoći… Provela je i pomagala mnoge humanitarne aktivnosti, poticala na povratak prognanika kućama, tješila, hrabrila, pa je nisu bez razloga zvali Majkom Terezom Posavljaka. Mario Essert nam je poslao svoj članak objavljen u časopisu Prsten.
Vladimir Novak: Croatians in America, fascinating photomonograph published in 2018
 Vladimir Novak (1928-2016)
Vladimir Paleeek Croatian humanist and founder of "Hungry Child" international fund in Croatia 1969
Vladimir Paleeek: “A catastrophic earthquake hit Sicily in 1968 in which many men, women, and children lost their lives. Gibellina, Salaparuta, Santa Margarita, and Montevago were wiped off the map. … When I walked through these places, when I saw hundreds of tents which had to replace warm homes, when I saw children without parents, when I saw children naked, barefooted, and hungry, who crowded around me, I came to the idea of creating a movement which would have one goal – TO HELP CHILDREN.” With this article we mark 50 years since founding “Hungry Child”, the only humanitarian NGO ever behind the “Iron Curtain”.
Hrvojka Mihanovic-Salopek: Veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Diocese of Gospić-Senj
We often travel to the Adriatic coast through the spacious, desolate, forested and mountainous expanses of Lika, without being aware that there used to be a highly developed center of medieval Croatian culture and Glagolitic scriptoria. Although the brutal Ottoman invasions wrought devastation, we are attracted to the residual traces of the original old Croatian civilization. This is Hrvojka Mihanovic-Salopek’s 11th DVD from the series Stella Maris of Croatia (Croatian Mariological heritage).
Hrvojka Mihanovic Salopek presenting Croatian Mariological Heritage of the Varazdin Bishopric
Dr. Hrvojka Mihanović-Salopek prepared already her tenth DVD covering various aspects of extremely rich mariological heritage among Croatians. This DVD refers to the Varaždin Bishopric on Croatian north. Numerous baroque churches, lavishly decorated by Ivan Ranger and other Baroque artists, provide a special touch into the architecture of the city of Varaždin and surrounding towns and villages. A special emphasis is placed on the natural beauties of the region, liturgical and folk melodies, as well as on centuries old Croatian literature.
Marko Veselica 1936-2017 Croatian economist and politician passed away – article by Ante Glibota
Marko Veselica was distinguished Croatian economist and legendary human rights activist who spent 11 years in communist prisons in 1970s and 80s. We provide an article of his close colleague and friend Academician Ante Glibota, vicepresident of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and Humanity in Paris , written in Croatian language. We also provide the titles of some of Veselica’s relevant books and studies.
Hrvojka Mihanovic Salopek presenting Croatian Mariological Heritage of the Sisak Bishopric
Veneration of Mary, Mother of Mercy, in the city of Sisak near Croatia’s capital Zagreb is the ninth film in the series Digital Recording of the Croatian Mariological Heritage, under the auspices of the Committee for Education, Science and Culture of the Croatian Parliament and the Council for Culture of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. The project leader, scenarist and director is Hrvojka Mihanović-Salopek, Ph.D, who deserves our deep gratitude for her excellent work, as well as the producers, Alojzije Prosoli and Krešimir Renzo Prosoli. On the photo two angels from the Sisak bishopric.
St Leopold Bogdan Mandic Croatian saint visited Croatia in April 2016
St Leopold Bogdan Mandic (1866-1942, memorial day 30th July) was born in Herceg Novi in Boka kotorska, and died in Padova, Italy. Physically malformed and delicate, having height only 1m 35cm, with clumsy walk and stuttering, he developed tremendous spiritual strength. Although he wanted to be missionary in Eastern Europe, he spent almost all of his adult life in Italy, and lived in Padova from 1906 until the end of his life. He spent also one year in Italian prison during the WWI, since he did not want to renounce his Croatian nationality.
Umro je Dr. Slobodan Lang: smrt koja nas moralno obvezuje na gradnju mira i einjenje dobra
Umro je … hrvatski domoljub i nacionalist, Židov i Hrvat, štovatelj i sljedbenik ideja i vjere Isusa Krista, hrabar čovjek u ratu, spasitelj brojnih ljudskih života, idejni začetnik humanitarnih konvoja “Libertas” (uz Branku Šeparović) i “Bijeli put” (s Hermanom Vukušićem), odan suprug i brižan i nježan otac i djed, sin velikog znanstvenika i plemenitog čovjeka dr. Rikarda Langa … Ništa od onog što je bio Slobodan Lang nije nikada prešutio i zatajio i zato bi nas njegova smrt mogla potaknuti na gradnju mira i činjenje dobra. (Prof.dr. Slaven Letica)
Dubrovnik celebrating 1044 years of the Feast of St Blaise in 2016
On the 3rd of February of 2016, the city of Dubrovnik celebrated the Feast of its protector, Sveti Vlaho (St. Blaise). The celebration is organized each year at this date for more than a thosand years, more specifically, for 1044 years. The Holy Mass was celebrated by the Sarajevo Cardinal Vinko Puljić, who was the official envoy of Pope Francis. Thirty archbishops and bishops concelebrated, among them Blaise Cupich, archbishop of Chicago (who is of Croatian origin), archbishop Kegham Katcherian, envoy of the Armenian Catholicos – upon the invitation of the Dubrovnik bishop Mate Uzinić, as well as around a hundred priests. We provide numerous photos of Croatians in traditional dresses, who attended the Feast of Sveti Vlaho.
Esther Gitman's interview 2016 about Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac and his role in saving the Jews in Croatia
Dr Esther Gitman analized about 5000 archival documents kept in various Croatian archives. Especially important among them are 500 signed petitions for the rescue of Jews in Croatia during the WW2. Some of these documents contain as many as 150 names, signed by ordinary people, who risked their lifes in order to save the lifes of their endangered Jewish neighbors and friends. Furthermore, according to Dr Girtman, THOSANDS OF ORDINARY PEOPLE signed these petitions, which is a fact totally unknown in historigraphy (not only Croatian). Similar documents in such abundonce, cannot be found in any other European country, said Dr Gitman. We invite you to see and listen to this extremely interesting and important interview, conducted by the Laudato TV in Zagreb, Croatia.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2016 accompanied with beautiful Croatian Christams carols
Croatia has as many as 500 traditional Christmas carols, the oldest ones dating from the 12th century, and sung also today. This number is probably greater than in the case of any other nation in the Christian world. We provide several video recordings to illustrate this important religious and musical heritage of the Republic of Croatia, which was a source of inspiration for numerous composers. On the photo a Christmas detail from the wooden portal of Andrija Buvina in the Split Cathedral, dating from 1214, of 530 cm of height. This is a top monument of Croatian culture.
The Story of Ilija Letica by distinguished Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar
We present the readers of the CROWN a fascinating documentary by Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar about the life and work of Ilija Letica in the USA, about his very successful LETICA CORPORATION in the USA, with a special emphasis on his ties with Croatia and on his life philosophy. LETICA is a multi-faceted packaging company with diverse talent and technologies to support business on a number of fronts. The company works in multiple technologies such as thermoform, injection mold, paper-forming and sheet extrusion as well as with multiple mediums including paper, rigid and thinwall plastic, reclaimed post-consumer fiber, and other environmentally-friendly materials.
Konstantina Bozak has created Mendeleev's periodic table by means of Croatian Glagolitic Script
Konstantina Božak, MSc, is professor of Biology and Chemistry at the School of Midwifery in Croatia’s capital Zagreb. At the same time, she is a big fan of Croatian Glagolitic Scrpit. So, she decided to represent Mendeleev’s periodic table in a completely new way, which has not yet been seen in the history of Chemistry. We are sure that Mendeleev would like his periodic table shown in the new way. She has exploited a nice Croatian Glagolitic font created by Nenad Hančić from Germany.
U boj, u boj! sung by Kwansei Gakuin University Choir from Japan in Croatia's capital Zagreb 2014
Connection between Croatian arias and Japanese students is already well known. Male choir of one of the most prestigious Japanese universities – Kwansei Gakuin University, Kobe – for its anthem chose “U boj, u boj “, the famous air from the Croatian opera “Nikola Subic Zrinski”. Japanese choirs are singing this air exclusively in the Croatian language for the last 90 years, and it is believed that the persona and life of Nikola Zrinski of Siget found its admirers in distant Japan because of his courage and honourable samurai death in 1566. The opera was composed by Ivan pl. Zajc 1832-1914, distinguished Croatian composer, on the photo.