United Croatian Male Prayer Catholic Group Sydney

on was made of gratitude to all the defenders who participated, suffered, or went missing in the military-police Operation ‘Storm,’ the 28th anniversary of which was just celebrated.

The Mass celebration of the feast of the Trans�iguration of the Lord, a subli-

Ivo Tadić in Wollongong, who is currently on vacation. Furthermore, thanks to Fra Ivica from the Blacktown parish, who assisted with the holy mass and confession. The mass was beautifully celebrated with a full church of Croatian Catholic men. The church was �illed with all generations, including grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and sons; by the altar, numerous altar boys, including the use of incense and censers. The newly established male choir of Summer Hill, under the guidance of the very talented organ and keyboard player Stjepan Petrović, further strengthened and enhanced the worship. Fra Jerko invigorated and inspired the men with a powerful sermon that included the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, connecting it with re�lections on the faith of the Croats during centuries of wars. “We do not win in wars because we have so much hatred and desire for what is ahead of us... No... we win in wars because of what is behind us, pushing us and protecting us. God is stronger than all!” – highlighting one of the powerful thoughts. At the end of the mass, Fra Davor led us in a �inal prayer and blessing, with a special plenary indulgence of Our Lady of the Angels of Porziuncola and the singing of the Croatian anthem ‘Our Beautiful Homeland.’ After the conclusion of the holy mass, we were treated to a dinner blessed by Fra Davor. A specially favoured winter dish was served - čobanac cooked for 8 hours - full of �lavour, accompanied by warm punch. There was also succulent roasted pig on a spit! There is no better way to celebrate such an important day: excellent food prepared by our knights, beer and brandy for toasting! After dinner, music and the accordion appeared as the highlight of this special evening in our community. The singing of old songs and melodies, bećarac and gange, ensued. me event from Christ’s life described by the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, through which we see the promise of our own transformation through faith and Christ’s intervention, marked the Sunday morning on the ‘Clifton Hill’s Hill of Trans�iguration.’

Thanksgiving

Text and Photos: Matthew JURČEVIĆ

The celebration in honour of the 28th anniversary of ‘Operation Storm’ commenced with a Holy Mass at St. Anne’s Church in North Fremantle, Western Australia, on August 5th, 2023.

Following Mass, a dinner was held at the Western Australian Croatian Community Centre in North Fremantle in a large hall, attended by numerous dignitaries, including the President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce of Western Australia, and the representative of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for Australia, Luke Jurčević. Also in attendance

Text: Croatian Herald

Photos: Zlatko KOZLEVČAR

Melbourne - The celebration of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Defenders Day, along with the 28th anniversary of the military-police Operation Storm, took place on Saturday, August 5th, 2023, at the social premises of Mel- bourne Croatia in Sunshine, organised by HSP Australia. With an excellent traditionally homemade dinner, the guests were entertained by the music band ‘Ja I moj kolega’ ensuring that songs and dancing were in no short supply. Lucky winners were awarded valuable prizes from the raf�le that had been prepared. was the Croatian Consul for Western Australia, Zoran Šangut.

In his speech, Luke Jurčević mentioned his visit to the Vukovar war memorial and water tower, as well as Škabrnja; visiting towns that were severely damaged during the Homeland War by the Serbian Yugoslav army. The Croatian Consul, Zoran Šangut, spoke about the signi�icance of August 5th, Operation Storm in Croatian history, and the reclaiming of a vast area that was occupied by the Serbian army in a short period of time. After a prize raf�le, cakes and coffee were served along with music provided by Vjeran Duplančić, Stan Panić, Raymond Pecotic, and Denis Padovan, who performed an entire repertoire of Croatian songs from all regions of Croatia.