A modern facsimile of the breviary of Sister Cika ( c.1060), a cheque containing a sum of money collected during Lent this year, that will serve for the purchase of equipment for the local hospital, and a bouquet of flowers. These are the gifts that the archdiocese of Zadar will deliver to John Paul II during his forthcoming visit to Croatia from 5 to 9 June. In particular the breviary of Sister Cika explains the Croatian Catholic press agency IKA “is a highly symbolic gift. It is in fact considered the first book of prayer, structured according to the Liturgy of the Hours, for personal use. It dates to the early eleventh century and contains votive prayers in honour of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary. Studies conducted on the breviary have shown that the prayers were composed in the customary form then prayed by women and not by men. It precedes every other similar volume by roughly two centuries in date”. As for the Pope’s visit, Archbishop Ivan Devcic of Rijeka, in an interview with the Catholic weekly of Sarajevo “Katolicki tiednik”, recalled that “this is the third time that the Pope has visited Croatia and it coincides with the 100th foreign journey of his pontificate: a jubilee that reveals John Paul II’s affinity with the Church and people of Croatia”.
