Assistant Professor Trbušić Delivered a Lecture on Archbishop Stepinac’s Public Addresses Dedicated to St. Mark of Križevci

On Monday, 8 September 2025, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as part of the two-week celebration of the Solemnity of St. Mark of Križevci in the Co-Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Križevci, Assistant Professor Davor Trbušić, Ph.D., from the Department of Communication Studies, delivered a lecture entitled “St. Mark of Križevci in the Public Addresses of Zagreb Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac.”

He emphasized that both Križevčanin and Stepinac suffered martyrdom, refusing to yield to the demands of Calvinist and Communist persecutors respectively, both being offered privileges in exchange for breaking ties with Rome—one material wealth, the other false independence, subsidies, salaries, and estates for priests. “And although Stepinac did not die a violent death, even though the systematic Communist terror against him could be characterized as such, just like Križevčanin, he ended his earthly life with a prayer on his lips and faith in the victory of Christ’s Gospel. One could conclude that Stepinac and Križevčanin were separated by time, but far more strongly connected and united by the same spirit, evident in their pastoral work and encapsulated in the words of St. Ambrose: ‘Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia’—‘Where Peter is, there is the Church,’” Trbušić noted.

He added that the contextualization of St. Mark of Križevci in Archbishop Stepinac’s public addresses was mostly based on highlighting his martyrdom and exemplary witness for the Croatian people in fidelity to the Catholic Church and the See of Peter. “This is most clearly evident in Stepinac’s circular dedicated to St. Mark in 1935, then at the opening of the parish named after the Košice martyr in 1937, at the blessing of the foundation stone in 1940, and finally, at the dedication of the newly built church in Zagreb’s Trešnjevka in December 1941,” explained Dr. Trbušić, who presented the messages about St. Mark of Križevci that Stepinac emphasized in those instances.

He spoke in particular about Stepinac’s visit to Križevci in June 1936, his efforts toward the canonization of Nicholas Tavelic and Mark of Križevci, and the opening of the Parish of Blessed Mark of Križevci in Zagreb’s Trešnjevka in November 1937. “In Križevci, Stepinac emphasized in his homily that ‘no one can surpass us in love for Croatia,’ a sentence later inscribed as his epitaph on his tomb in Zagreb Cathedral,” the lecturer recalled. He also testified that his research on Stepinac has already exposed him to opposition. He recounted how, as a student at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, he was explicitly told at his public thesis defense that he would not be able to obtain a doctorate there with a topic on Stepinac. He therefore had to enroll in doctoral studies at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, where he completed his doctorate on Stepinac in 2022.

At the end, on behalf of the organizers, Associate Professor Tanja Baran, Ph.D., President of the Association for the Promotion of Notable Citizens of Križevci “Dr. Stjepan Kranjčić”, thanked the lecturer, highlighted his many contributions to the study and public discourse on Blessed Stepinac, and reminded attendees that the lecture, adapted into a scholarly article, can be read in the landmark scientific monograph “St. Mark of Križevci: Life and Work”, published three years ago by Glas Koncila with contributions from about twenty authors.

The lecture was preceded by a Mass celebrated by Križevci Dean, Prelate Stjepan Soviček, and a poetry and music recital “In Honor of St. Mark of Križevci” performed by the Association’s Secretary, Danijela Zagorec, and the youth choir of Križevci parishes “Crisinus.”

Text and photos: IKA