Holy mass was celebrated on April 1st in the Greek Catholic co-cathedral of St. Cyril and Methodius with a special prayer cause for the canonisation of blessed king Karl IV.
Gebetsliga Croatia, full name King Karl the IVth League of Prayers for Peace among Nations, has organized a group prayer for the first time. Taking the form of a novena, the prayer was offered by the Croatian branch of the Gebetsliga for the cause of canonization of blessed king Karl IV. Occurring simultaneously with the Holy Week, the two synergised, adding to the depth of the prayer and self-reflection. Christ’s life, suffering and resurrection were among the most important of bl. Karl IV. inspirations in life, as well as his love of praying the rosary. So it is with us as Christians and even more so during the Holy Week. The last day of the novena coincided with Easter Monday, and also the anniversary of bl. Karl IV’s death.
On this occasion, in the Greek Catholic co-cathedral of St. Cyril and Methodius at Gornji Grad in Zagreb, a holy mass was celebrated with a prayer cause for the canonization. The Holy Mass was celebrated by Reverend Father Gorazd Bastašić, parish vicar. During the celebration of the divine liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Father Bastašić delivered a suitable sermon during which he mentioned the importance of and the role model qualities of blessed King Karl IV. in today's world - especially in the context of building families, political leadership and Christian morality in political, public and cultural life. After the mass celebration, Father Bastašić invited the members of Gebetsliga and HKRV to socialize in the premises of the co-cathedral, where we had the opportunity to talk and socialize with the parish community.
About blessed King Karl IV.
The last legitimate king of Croatia according to King Zvonimir's right of succession and a blessed of the Catholic Church, he was born as one of a series of archdukes of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Archduke Karl himself was not meant to succeed the throne. However, following the death of Prince Rudolf, the unequal marriage of Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sofia, and their murder in Sarajevo, Karl was brought to the position of prince and heir to the throne in 1914. After the death of the long-lived King Francis Joseph I in 1916, Charles became the Austrian emperor, and the Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, etc. king at the great Croatian-Hungarian coronation in Budapest in December 1916, when he was crowned as the Croatian and Hungarian king, and his wife Zita as our queen. His fate, as well as that of his wife, was tied to the hardships of wartime. They were extremely socially sensitive, asked high society and the court for modesty and sacrifice during the days of poverty and suffering of their people. He strove for peace during his whole reign and resolved to help the poor, widowed and orphaned. He was inclined to a trialist and federalist solution of the predominant political issue in the monarchy, which is why during the last days of his rule, he reformed the Monarchy, uniting Croatian countries. He was a very pious and self-sacrificing person, prayed the rosary every day, offered his sufferings and torments to the altar, and especially celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After the end of the war in 1918, he went into exile in Switzerland, accompanied by his wife in two attempts to restore power in Hungary and in his desire to liberate Croatia from Yugoslavia. In the end, he died on the island of Madeira in severe illness, torment and suffering, carrying the name of Christ on his lips. In 2004, St. Pope John Paul II. proclaimed him blessed of the Catholic Church.
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