VATICAN CITY, SEP 19, 1999 (VIS) - At 8:30 a.m. the Pope departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport for Maribor, Slovenia, where he arrived at 10, thus starting his 88th pastoral trip abroad. Following a brief welcome ceremony at the airport, he travelled to the esplanade of Betnava on the outskirts of the city.
At 11, the Holy Father presided at a Mass during which he beatified Servant of God Anton Martin Slomsek (1800-1862), first bishop of Maribor and the first Slovenian to become a blessed. More than 200,000 Slovenians, Croats, Hungarians and Austrians took part in the ceremony.
In his homily, John Paul II spoke of the qualities of the new Blessed: "Attentive to the needs of the formation of both clergy and faithful and with an apostolic zeal that still today serves as an example for us all, he never tired of evangelizing, encouraging popular missions, inspiring numerous confraternities, preaching spiritual exercises and disseminating popular songs and religious writings."
The Pope highlighted the fact that Slomsek was a man concerned with ecumenism and with the culture of his time as well as being a great lover of his homeland.
"Faithful and submissive to the Church, he showed himself to be deeply open to ecumenism and one of the first in Central Europe to commit himself to Christian unity." In 1851 he founded the confraternity of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, approved by Pope Pius IX, the aim of which was the unity of Christians.
"He united pastoral work with commitment to the promotion of culture," affirmed the Pope. "Convinced (of the importance of culture), Slomsek strove to open schools for the young and made possible the publication of books useful in human and spiritual formation."
The Pope emphasized the Blessed's patriotism: "His initiatives have decisively marked the future of your people and made an important contribution to your gaining independence. Turning to consider the beloved region of the Balkans, scarred, alas, over the last few years by conflict and violence, by extreme nationalism, by brutal ethnic cleansing and by war between peoples and cultures, I would like to highlight to all the testimony of the new Blessed. He shows how it is possible to be sincerely patriotic and yet, with equal sincerity, coexist and collaborate with people of other nationalities, other cultures and other religions. May his example, and especially his intercession, secure true solidarity and peace for all the people of this vast area of Europe."
Referring to the process of unification in Europe, the Pope requested that this "not be based only on economic interests, but draw inspiration from those Christian values in which (Europe's) oldest and most authentic values are rooted. A Europe attentive to human beings and the full respect of their rights, this is the goal towards which efforts must be directed."
The Holy Father concluded by calling for prayer in favor of the Synod of Bishops for Europe which will be held in the Vatican from October 1 to 23.
At the end of the Mass and before praying the angelus, John Paul II recalled the new Blessed's devotion to the Virgin, saying that she "occupies an important place in your people's religiosity."
Among his greetings to pilgrims who attended the beatification, the Pope told the Croats: "(Your) presence also gives me the opportunity to recall the innocent victims of wars and totalitarian regimes and, especially, those heaped into the mass graves recently discovered near Maribor. May such dramatic events never happen again! May God concede the precious gift of peace to Slovenia, to Croatia and to all the countries of Europe and the world."
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