Pilgrimage of the Croatian Catholic Medical Association (CroCMA) to the Shrine of Marija Bistrica on the occasion of the International Day of Conscientious Objection and the 35th Anniversary of CroCMA organized under the auspices of the European Federation of Catholic Medical Associations.
Dear and esteemed members and friends of the Croatian Catholic Medical Association (CroCMA),
This year, the Croatian Catholic Medical Association marks the 35th anniversary of its founding and, on this occasion, is organizing a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Marija Bistrica on May 15–17, 2026.
Every year on May 15, our Association commemorates the International Day of Conscientious Objection. We will host a Symposium on Conscientious Objection, where our distinguished members and guests from the FEAMC Executive Board will address the professional and ethical challenges related to the right to conscientious objection.
As May 15 is also the anniversary of the death of our founder and long-time ecclesiastical assistant, Msgr. Dr. Valentin Pozaić, Auxiliary Bishop of Zagreb, the CroCMA Executive Board has decided that, from this year onward, the day will be commemorated as Bishop Valentin Pozaić Day. For many years, Bishop Pozaić supported the initiative of CroCMA to mark May 15 each year as the Day of Conscientious Objection through appropriate lectures, in which he himself participated on several occasions. We believe that in this way we will best preserve the memory of our ecclesiastical assistant, especially by gathering in his beloved Marija Bistrica, the shrine where, in 2021, we proclaimed him an honorary member of CroCMA. We invite you to join this spiritual program, give thanks to the Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary for
their protection throughout our first 35 years of activity.
Bishop Valentin Pozaić Day 2026 – Final Program
