On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the traditional annual meeting of the friars of the Provinces of Croatia and Slovenia took place at the St. Anthony of Padua Friary in Sisak, Croatia.
Around thirty friars attended the meeting. Some were from the Province of St. Jerome in Croatia, led by the Minister Provincial Friar Miljenko HONTIĆ. The rest were from the Province of St. Joseph in Slovenia, led by their Minister Provincial, Friar Milan KOS.
The meeting began with a greeting from the local Guardian, Friar Ivan BRADARIĆ, followed by a word of welcome from each of the Ministers Provincial. Next, the friars prayed Midday Prayer.
Afterwards, Friar Milan GELO of Croatia gave a lecture on: “History and Time in the Theological Thought of St. Bonaventure.”
The friars then celebrated Mass at the parish church of St. Joseph the Worker with the Minister Provincial, Friar Miljenko, presiding. Here is an excerpt from his homily:
“Dear brothers, the words that the liturgy sets before us today are very inspiring and correspond well with this fraternal meeting of our two Provinces: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. As brothers in community, it would be good if we continually reminded ourselves and others of this truth. It should be the foundation and starting point of our fraternal life, our apostolate, and our pastoral work.[…] If we lose sight of it, we risk working and striving in vain. [… ] Let us not tire of starting over again. In this sense, our founder St. Francis, can be a good example for us. In his concern and commitment for the conversion and salvation of all people, he often went about weeping and saying, “Love is not loved.” God’s love was at the center of his thoughts and actions. Therefore he tried to invest all his life energy into following Jesus Christ, living that great love of God and preaching to all men. […] We should never imagine or desire to obtain titles or honors, special achievements or recognition in life. What should be most important to us is remaining with God, in good times or bad, in poverty or luxury, in acceptance or in rejection, in recognition or in contempt. We should always remain in God’s love. May this meeting encourage us and help us realize the truth about God’s calling and His love, about how precious we are to God and how much trust He places in us. It is up to us to continually strive to respond as much as possible to His love and allow Him to be glorified in us and through us, contributing to the renewal of the world today.”
The meeting ended with lunch in a fraternal and communal atmosphere.
Friar Zlatko VLAHEK, Provincial Secretary
