With the theme "Family -- the path of the church and the nation," the pope also will emphasize the importance of family ties.
In Dubrovnik, Croatia's tourist pearl heavily shelled by Serbs in 1991, the pontiff will beatify Marija Petkovic, a Croatian nun who died in Rome in 1966 after founding a religious order and devoting her life to children. Petkovic will be the first Croatian woman to be beatified, which is the last step before possible sainthood.
At Saturday's stop in the eastern city of Osijek -- just 10km from predominantly Orthodox Serbia -- the pope will meet with Orthodox church leaders in an ongoing effort to erase a millennium of tension and mistrust between Christianity's two quarreling sisters.
RSS