Scouts Croatia placed the Light of Bethlehem, a symbol of peace around the world, in the Zagreb Cathedral on Sunday, for the 30th year in a row.

Numerous representatives of scouts’ associations from around the country gathered in Zagreb’s Europe Square, from where they headed for the Zagreb Cathedral, where student Mia Mikulec handed the Light of Bethlehem to Msgr. Josip Kuhtic, the rector of the Zagreb Cathedral.

Attending the ceremony was also Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, under whose auspices the event took place.

He told reporters that the year 2022 was marked by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the suffering of the Ukrainian people, with a large number of victims, civilians, women and children.

“In such a situation the Light of Bethlehem symbolises the wish of us all for the war to stop, for there to be peace and good, and for us, as the democratic world, to oppose what is going on in Ukraine, but also to pray for enough wisdom and strength in all for the war to stop,” he said.

The Light of Bethlehem has been coming to Croatia under Parliament’s auspices since 1992.

The Light of Bethlehem is lit by Austrian scouts in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and is then taken to Vienna, from where other scouts from Europe and America take it to their own countries.

This year, the central ceremony of the Light of Bethlehem was held at Pfarrkirche Neuottakring in Vienna, under the motto “Plant a tree for the hope of peace.”