We are now living in a world where the unity of Central European nations is even more necessary - stressed Miklós Soltész, the Prime Minister's State Secretary responsible for church and ethnic relations, to MTI after visiting Zagreb and Split. According to the state secretary, this was the main message of his tour of Croatia.

Miklós Soltész first met in the Croatian capital with the Croatian Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Korzinek, with whom he discussed the renovation of the church in Zazina.

 After the December 2020 earthquake in central Croatia, the Hungarian government offered to renovate a school in Petrinja and a church in Zazina.

In this regard, the state secretary said: an agreement was reached that after the static surveys, it will be decided whether the walls of the church, which survived intact, will be preserved, or whether they will have to be completely rebuilt. "Of course, if the support of the Hungarian government is not enough, then Croatia will also contribute to the reconstruction," said the state secretary, adding that the final decision will be made by mid-March.

 "The other, symbolic topic of the discussion was that the Hungarian government wants to erect a statue in memory of St. Margaret of Árpád-háza in Klissza Castle, where the princess was born on January 27, 1242," said Miklós Soltész . According to his words, he received a promise from the Croatian Minister of Culture that, in consultation with the local monument protection office, they will get an answer as soon as possible on where and when the monument can be erected.

 "We are talking about our common saint, a very important person of our common history, and the Croatians certainly want to support this," said the state secretary, and also pointed out that Klissza Castle could be an excellent tourist destination for Hungarians vacationing in Dalmatia in the future.

In connection with the statue of St. Margaret, the state secretary also visited Archbishop Marin Barisic of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska. "The archbishop is very happy to support and advocate for the placement of St. Margaret's statue in the Klissa castle," said Miklós Soltész, mentioning that the archbishop also thanked the efforts that Hungary is making for Christianity and families.

In Split, the Secretary of State met with the Split-Dalmatian county branch of the Democratic Community of Hungarians in Croatia (HMDK), and then attended the Mass in honor of St. Margaret in the Split Cathedral. On January 18, the anniversary of St. Margaret's death, a mass has been held in the Sveti Dujam Cathedral since 2000.

 "The struggle of the Hungarians living here to remain, to preserve their Hungarianness, is certainly honorable and to be respected, and it is completely natural that they can count on the support and attention of the Hungarian government in the future," underlined the state secretary responsible for church and ethnic relations.

Source: Sunday/MTI

Image: KDNP