October 30, 2010. Benedict XVI will travel to Croatia in the first half of next year. This was confirmed by the Cardinal of Zagreb, Josip Bozanic, after meeting with President of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic.
The Pope will visit during a weekend and he will visit the tomb of Cardinal Stepanic, the Archbishop of Zagreb. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a communist court.
Also during the visit, Benedict will attend a large meeting with Croatian families.
This will be the first time that Benedict XVI travels to Croatia, a country which aspires to join the European Union in 2012. John Paul II visited on three separate occasions.
Croatia is a Catholic stronghold in the Balkans where 8 out of ten people are Catholic.
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