Cardinal Josip Bozanic, the Archbishop of Zagreb, presided over the Easter Sunday Mass at St Stephen's Cathedral in Zagreb, saying that people today needed the strength of determination and wishing everyone was always accompanied by the joy of Easter.

Among those attending were Apostolic Nuncio Giuseppe Pinto, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his ministers, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic and MPs.

In his homily, Cardinal Bozanic referred to the shipyard workers in Pula and Rijeka who “have been coming to work for months without being paid,” noting that this was happening in a part of the country that was described as most developed.

“How is this possible? Politicians, both local and those at the highest level, are certainly aware of this. Problems that have been long kept under the carpet in the interest of power-wielders need to be dealt with, but it is the little man that gets hurt in such games and calculations,” Bozanic said, urging those in charge not to lose sight of the unprotected little man in addressing difficult issues.

He called for prayer for the victims of war and destruction, for peace in the world, for the sick and abandoned, for the lonely, for those troubled by various physical and spiritual hardships, and especially for young people to be ensured a decent future, wishing everyone a blessed Easter.

Easter was celebrated throughout the country as well as in Croatian communities in neighbouring countries and elsewhere.