St. Peter the Great Parish, in Zagreb's Dubravica, marked its 25th anniversary on Sunday. The large parish celebration brought together the faithful and numerous guests, with the central events being the anniversary celebration and the blessing of the bells.
The solemn mass was led by the Bishop of Mostar-Duvan, Mons. Petar Palić, alongside the local parish priest, Kristo Brkić. Before the blessing, Mons. Palić spoke about the importance of the bells, and the bells rang out following the ceremonial rite. The smallest bell was blessed by the Mijač family, specifically Emanuel and Marija Mijač, along with their children Frank, Gabriel, and Anna. The middle bell was blessed by the family of Ivan Topčić.
Among the guests from political and public life were the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans, Tomo Medved, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, and Mislav Herman, deputy speaker of the Zagreb City Assembly.
The history of St. Peter the Great Parish in Dubravica dates back to 2001, when the then Archbishop of Zagreb, Josip Bozanić, divided the existing St. Michael's Parish into four smaller parishes through a decree. The new Parish of Blessed Pope John XXIII was established on 1 September 2001, with its official start marked on 2 September of the same year, when the auxiliary bishop of Zagreb, Mons. Josip Mrzljak, read the decree establishing the new parish in the former pastoral centre of St. Lawrence of Brindisi.
The current church was built in 2013 and 2014, and was consecrated by the Zagreb Archbishop, Cardinal Josip Bozani, on the feast of St. Peter the Great. Pope John XXIII served from 1958 to 1963 and is particularly known for convening the Second Vatican Council. He was canonised on 27 April 2014, and following the canonisation, the name of the Zagreb parish was changed to St. Peter the Great Parish.
The local parish priest, Kristo Brkić, invited the assembled faithful to remain for a communal gathering after the liturgical part of the celebration. 'In Dubravica, we always celebrate on a grand scale, and so the anniversary of our parish deserves a grand celebration,' the priest said. Guests were able to enjoy food and drink, while the KUD Sinac, the Tamburica Celindof, the KUD Hrvatski Hrvati, and the band Modum provided the music and good mood.
