The Church in Slovenia is now celebrating the Week of the Family (19-25 March 2004). On 25 March, solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord, Archbishop Franc Rodé officiated a eucharistic celebration in the cathedral of Ljubljana, to which he invited all the children to whom he had personally administered the sacrament of Baptism. During his episcopate in the archdiocese of Ljubljana, begun on 7 April 1997, the archbishop has in fact baptized every seventh child born to families in the territory of the local Church. In some cases the seventh child has been followed by the eighth, then by the ninth and even by the tenth. So far 41 children have been invited. The decision to privilege the families with most children formed part of the preparation for the Slovene plenary Council, one of the main objectives of the Church in Slovenia. Slovenia has a small population of less than two million inhabitants, but it also has a high mortality rate due to suicides, while the birth rate is around 1.2%. Over 5000 Slovenes are due to participate in the “Pilgrimage of Peoples”, culmination of the Katholikentag for the Catholics of Central Europe (MEKT), planned at the Austrian Marian Sanctuary of Mariazell on 22 May. The apostolic administrator of Ljubljana, Archbishop Franc Rodé, has also promised his participation in the event, in spite of the new post he will assume in the Vatican from 19 April 2004 as Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Meanwhile, the last session of the general Committee that brings together the presidents and general secretaries of the Episcopal Conferences of the eight countries participating in the pilgrimage is due to be held in Celje, in Slovenia from 29 to 30 March. The final version of the message to be published at the end of the pilgrimage, on 23 May, will be approved during this meeting. The Slovene Episcopal Conference, during its last ordinary assembly, also supported the Committee’s project for the collection of signatures in favour of the insertion of religion among the optional subjects available for children undergoing compulsory schooling. So far some 30,000 signatures have been collected.
