About Slovenia:
One of the most picturesque countries in all of Eastern Europe, Slovenia is roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts and has a population of just over 2 million people. Slovenia lies east of Italy and north of Croatia.
The majority of Slovenia was under Habsburg rule from the 13th century into the 20th century, a period that fostered a strong Catholic identity and limited the spread of Protestantism.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries the Catholic Church actively worked to restore its presence, with key figures like Tomaz Hren Bishop and Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek playing important roles. Reforms by Empress Maria Teresa and Emperor Joseph II in the 18th century led to increased state control over the church, but this was later addressed by an agreement between the Austrian monarchs and the Holy See.
In 1918, Slovenia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. It was a period of the promotion of atheism and the removal of religious instruction from schools. During the Nazi occupation in World War II, the Church faced continued persecution, including the seizure of property and the imprisonment of clergy.
After World War II Slovenia was under control of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, another period that brought challenges to religious practice. In a referendum held on December 23, 1990, 88.2 % of the Slovenian electorate voted for independence. The country declared its independence after a brief 10-day war with Serbia and left the Republic of Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991.
Slovenia subsequently joined NATO and the EU in 2004 and the euro zone and the Schengen Area in 2007. Slovenia has a Religious Freedom Act that, while ensuring freedom of religion, also provides some bias towards the Catholic Church in terms of state funding and registration.
Roman Catholicism remains the dominant religion in Slovenia, although Islam and Orthodox Christianity have made some inroads
Catholic places of interest in Slovenia:
Bled (Lake Bled): Church of Mary the Queen
Brezj: Mary Help of Christians Church and the Miraculous Icon of Our Lady
Traveling to Slovenia:
Most visitors to the country arrive by air to the capitol of Ljubljana. For those traveling from the U.S. the most popular route is from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (Code LJU) in Ljubljana. On average this flight takes 12 hours 12 minutes one-way.