Celebration of Blessed Aloysius [Alojzije] Stepinac

On Monday, February 10, 2025, our university community celebrated the feast of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac with a three-part program.

At 12 o'clock, a mass celebration was held, led by the university chaplain, Rev. Branimir Jagodić in concelebration with prof. Jerko Valković, PhD, from the University Department of Communication sciences and Assoc. prof. Odilon Singbo, PhD, from the University Department of Theology. In his homily, the chaplain spoke to the gathered University community about the gospel according to John (Jn 12, 23-28): "If anyone wants to serve me, let him follow me." Everyone who says they believe in God responded to this invitation of Jesus, which we heard about in the Gospel. However, not everyone responded in the same way. Each of us will go into joyful moments with enthusiasm and readiness. We would all like to witness Jesus' miracles, listen to his interpretations to the disciples, observe the dynamics of life that he had in his family with Mary and Joseph. However, when we remember that Jesus went to mockery, torment, and death, our readiness very often fails the test. In the character of blessed Aloysius, we have a man who accepted both the joys and difficulties and challenges of following the Lord with open arms. A man who understood that serving Jesus to the end does not mean being in a subordinate position, does not mean being used or being at a loss. On the contrary, serving God in freedom and love may mean the "loss" of certain earthly gifts, but in the end it represents a gain that cannot be compared with anything. That's why when we encounter difficulties, crises or trials in life and when it seems to us that we have lost everything, let's remember the words of our Blessed: "When everything is taken from you, you will have two hands left. Fold them in prayer and then you will be the strongest", the chaplain pointed out.
 

After the mass celebration, a screening of the documentary film "Stepinac: Cardinal and his Conscience" from 2020 by author Višnja Starešina, which was produced by the Catholic University of Croatia and Interfilm, was held. The film tells the story of the life of Alojzije Stepinac, about how he as a man and Archbishop of Zagreb coped with the biggest challenges of the 20th century, about the global and universal meaning of his work, about the reasons for not accepting his character and works that follow him to this day, about the relevance of his example and the universality of his messages in today's time. The film is included as part of the secondary school curriculum, and more teaching materials, videos and other information can be found at the link. 

The commemoration of the holiday ended with the death hour at 2:30 pm in the university chapel, which began with the report on the death of Alojzije Stepinac from the book by Aleks Benigar, followed by a congregational prayer, a word service, the spiritual testament of the Blessed and other spiritual exhortations.

It is worth noting that the university community of the Croatian Catholic University started commemorating Stepinčevo last week. During the entire week, instead of a sermon, the sermons of our blessed man were read at the holy mass, and at the end of the mass celebration, we prayed litanies to blessed Aloysius together. On the first floor of building B of our University (entrance from Domobranska Street), an exhibition about Blessed Aloysius with his quotes was set up. The exhibition can be visited every day during the working hours of the University.