MISSION IN CROATIA JANUARY 2008
 
I visited Croatia for the first time in the year 2002, while traveling on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina. It caught my attention then to see so many Catholics in a land that was dominated by the giant bear of the Russian communism for so many years. One would never expect any survivors of the Catholic faith after such an atheist foot literally crushed believers down to nothing in all the areas where it prevailed.
Miraculously, Croatia has survived the faith, and in a large way. One can see the Catholic church even more reverent and devout than that in the western countries that haven't had any enemies of such size for this long.
 
A few years after visiting Croatia for the first time, I received a letter from a book editor of Zagreb who was interested in translating and publishing the book I wrote of my conversion. We soon came to an agreement, and the book was printed by Detecta of Zagreb this past December 2007. The editing house is owned by very faithful Catholics with a missionary heart. It took no time for us to identify one another as soldiers of the same army who were ready to put on the good fight of the Gospel together. They had a good and busy itinerary for me to mission in a few cities in Croatia.
I flew from Rome to Split, a port of Croatia in the Adriatic sea. I was picked up by three gentlemen from Detecta who drove me to the city of Zadar, three hours away by car. Even though the climate was cold and rainy, it was a joy to discover more ancient history as I was introduced by a young driver who just graduated with a degree in history and was very knowledgeable about Croatia's history. The city of Zadar, one of the oldest cities of the old continent, has a very busy and transcendental Catholic background. One of the greatest surprises was to visit the church of St. Simeon. I walked into a very old marble church building and found on top of the Altar a beautiful ancient casket which contains the remains of the prophet of the presentation of Jesus in the temple. I never expected to find the body of such a great prophet so near.The list expected  encounter of all the Saints relics in our Catholic history. I even got a relic of a piece of cloth that had touched his body. For me, the Divine infancy of Jesus being the center and fountain of my spirituality, this was a great sign of the permanent company of the Divine infant along my missionary trail. Needless to say it was as great boost for my Croatian mission which I was just about to begin.
I visited a convent of Benedictian cloistered nuns. I gave them my testimony on that rainy Sunday afternoon, and then they took me to see the most powerful museum of saints' relics one could ever dream  to see. I had the museum all to myself! During the time when Napoleon was destroying the Catholic churches in Europe, many of the most sensitive relics of Italy were moved to neighboring countries, among them Croatia. It seems as if they were never re-claimed.
The following day we went to mission in Zagreb, and the following three days, I continued traveling through a few different cities, presenting my testimony of conversion, and introducing the newly translated book into the Croatian language. I could say that traveling through the Catholic church in Croatia, and after the experience I had of visiting so many countries and cities within the Catholic church, this was one of the most uplifting experiences of my missionary life. It left me with hope and with a great sense of knowing that in a world that turns more and more away from God, there are countries that still have values and morals and above all, faith in God and obedience to His commandments. Even though not everything is a bed of roses, still one can say that all  things considered, it is one of the most solid Catholic countries I ever found. The fire of the demons of communism only contributed in making them stronger Catholics. So, here Satan lost his war and on the contrary, built himself enemies of a good size.
Let's pray so that Croatia stays strong in the faith in spite of the neighboring forces of the materialism that reign all around the European Union countries in whose majority the faith has been practically lost to money, and pleasures of the world.
Long live the Catholic faith in Croatia !