About Marija Bistrica:
In this Croatian Marian shrine and parish fête site, the miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus is the greatest sacred object of the Croatian people. For centuries millions of pilgrims have been kneeling before it, praying, and asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The statue, which had been hidden from danger several times throughout its history, was found for the last time in July 1684 and placed at the altar. Pilgrimages to this shrine began from that time on. Many answered prayers dating from 1688 to the present day have been written down which show the great love and fidelity of the people for Mary, Mother of God.
The shrine in Marija Bistrica became the national shrine in 1715, when the Croatian parliament built a big votive altar.
As Marian devotions grew and many prayers got answered by seeking the intercession of Saint Mary of Bistrica, it was decided that the shrine’s church was too small to hold so many pilgrims; as a result, Bistrica’s parish priest Juraj (George) Žerjavić (1875 – 1911) had the church and the parish house with arcades extended and reconstructed following the designs of architect Friedrich von Schmidt and his student Hermann Bollé. The new church was built in Neo-Renaissance style.
On December 4, 1923, Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) granted the shrine of Saint Mary of Bistrica status of a minor basilica.
On August 15, 1971, Marija marked its first large celebration when the XIII International Marian Congress was held there. That year the bishops proclaimed the shrine Croatian national shrine of Saint Mary of Bistrica.
However, the Croatian church marked its biggest historical, ecclesiastic, and national event when Pope John Paul II visited Marija Bistrica and beatified the Archbishop of Zagreb Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac in October 1998.
Holy Father John Paul II confirmed it by saying: ‘I have wanted to come to the well-known shrine of Mary of Bistrica for a long time. Providence wished for it to be on the occasion of the beatification of Cardinal Stepinac.’
Holy Father John Paul II confirmed it by saying: ‘I have wanted to come to the well-known shrine of Mary of Bistrica for a long time. Providence wished for it to be on the occasion of the beatification of Cardinal Stepinac.’
Stations of the Cross
The idea for the Stations of the Cross in Marija Bistrica came from Archbishop Antun Bauer and his Coadjutor Blessed Alojzije Stepinac as they were observing the Stations of the Cross in Jasna Gora during the Eucharistic Congress in Czestochowa in 1935.
In 1943 the first four stations were carved in Italy in actual size from carrara marble.
In 1972 the Archbishop of Zagreb Franjo Kuharić founded the archdiocesan committee for building the parish fetê site. In the years to come new stations were added to the Stations of the Cross, all works of our well-known academic sculptors: Kruno Bošnjak (5th station), Ante Orlić in collaboration with Marija Ujević (13th station), Stanko Jančić (7th, 9th, 11th and 15th station), Ante Orlić (10th, 12th, and 14th station), Josip Poljan (6th station) and Ante Starčević (8th station).
Today the most important pilgrimages to Marija Bistrica even have their traditional names: Duhovsko (pilgrimage on the Feast of the Pentecost), votive pilgrimage of the city of Varaždin, votive pilgrimage of the city of Zagreb, Margaretsko (pilgrimage on the Feast of St. Margaret), Aninsko (pilgrimage on the Feast of St. Anne), Preobraženja Gospodinova (pilgrimage on the Feast of the Transfiguration), Velikogospojinsko (pilgrimage on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary), Bartolovsko (pilgrimage on the Feast of St. Bartholomew), Male Gospe (Pilgrimage on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary) and Zahvalnica (pilgrimage of gratitude).
Traveling to Marija Bistrica:
Marija Bistrica is situated on the northern slopes of Medvednica, about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Croatia’s capital of Zagreb.
Click here for the website of Marija Bistrica