The 24th Croatian Military and Police Pilgrimage to Lourdes
The 24th pilgrimage of the Croatian forces in Lourdes, France held from 17 – 24 May 2016, engaging some 700 members of the Croatian Armed Forces, police, the Croatian defenders, the representatives of the associations of defenders and disabled persons from Croatia and some 100 from Bosnia and Herzegovna, has joined the 58th International Military Pilgrimage.
The24th pilgrimage of the Croatian military and the police, under the motto “The door of the Lord is always open“ is commanded by Commodore Predrag Stipanović and the first led by the newly appointed Military Bishop Msgr Jure Bogdan. Msgr Bogdan in his homily underlined the importance of pilgrimage in the Jubilee Year, as it represents every person’s life journey. “The human life itself is a pilgrimage, and people are travellers – pilgrims advancing towards the ultimate destination“.
The opening ceremony in the Basilica of St Pius X on 20 May 2016 was attended by the Croatian delegation among the many participating countries representatives, with the Deputy Defence Minister Tomislav Ivić and the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Mirko Šundov.