The Croatian Catholic Medical Society (CroCMA) organized a pilgrimage on 15–16 November 2025 to the ancient Diocese of Srijem. The first stop was Srijemska Mitrovica, today located in the Republic of Serbia, a city developed from the ancient Roman city of Sirmium, one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire, situated on the southern slopes of Fruška Gora near the Sava River, presumed to have been founded by the Illyrians. The first Christian communities in Sirmium appeared during the 3rd century, and the oldest sacred structure dates back to the 5th century—the basilica dedicated to St. Demetrius—whose remains have been preserved and are accessible to visitors.
About fifty pilgrims—members of the CroCMA, their families, and friends—were welcomed and greeted by Msgr. Fabijan Svalina, Bishop of Srijem, in today’s “new” Cathedral of St. Demetrius, built in 1811 in the neoclassical style. The church was proclaimed a co-cathedral in 1984, a minor basilica in 1999, and in 2008—after the re-establishment of the independent Diocese of Srijem—it became the cathedral.
The patron of the Diocese of Srijem and the Mitrovica cathedral is St. Demetrius, a young deacon who was among many Christians tortured and killed in Sirmium in 304 under Emperor Diocletian for preaching Christianity. Among the Srijem martyrs was also St. Anastasia, who was burned at the stake; her remains were transferred to Constantinople and later, in the 9th century, to Zadar, where she is venerated today as a co-patroness of the city.
After visiting the cathedral, Bishop Svalina led the pilgrims to the archaeological remains of the Imperial Palace, discovered during excavations in 1957 and partially preserved and arranged for visitors.
We then visited the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius, an important cultural monument of the Orthodox Eparchy of Srijem, walked through the city center, and continued to the city of Srijemski Karlovci, where we visited the Chapel of Our Lady of Peace (Santa Maria della Pace). The Franciscans built this chapel on the site of the hall where the Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League. Also known as “The Austrian treaty that saved Europe”, it marks the end of Ottoman control in much of Central Europe, with their first major territorial losses in Europe, beginning the reversal of almost three centuries of expansion (1299–1683). The treaty established the Habsburg monarchy as the dominant power of the region.
As CroCMA pilgrims traditionally visit a Marian shrine, this year we gathered for the evening holy mass at the famous diocesan shrine of Our Lady of the Snows at Tekije. The old medieval Christian chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman occupation of the region in 1526, known locally as Tekija. After the departure of the Ottomans in 1687, the Jesuits began using the abandoned Tekija mosque for worship, converting it into a Christian chapel and dedicating it to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1716, the Ottomans again besieged the ancient city of Petrovaradin, defended by the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy. On 5 August 1716, in a short battle fought near Tekije, Prince Eugene defended the city with the help of Our Lady’s intercession. As a sign of gratitude, he donated to the Petrovaradin church an image of the Mother of God with the Child, in memory of the victory achieved on 5 August, the feast of Our Lady of the Snows. Since then, the church at Tekije has been dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows—also known as Our Lady of Tekije—where the miraculous image of the Mother of God with the Child, Prince Eugene’s gift, is preserved.
On Sunday the pilgrims visited Petrovaradin, where they celebrated Mass in the famous Church of St. George. The history of this church is turbulent and inseparably linked to the history of Croats and Catholics in Srijem. It was built by the Jesuits in 1701, along with a monastery that since 1996 has served as the residence of the Bishop of Srijem. The church also contains a baroque baptismal font in which Ban Josip Jelačić was baptized in 1801; his birthplace stands opposite the church and monastery. Count Josip Jelačić (1801–1859) was a Croatian lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army and a politician. He served as Ban of Croatia (1848–1859) and was a noted general remembered for his campaigns during the Revolutions of 1848 and for abolishing serfdom in Croatia.
The Church of St. George and its monastery are also significant because Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer served there as a young chaplain from spring 1838 until October 1840, when, by episcopal decree, he went to Vienna to continue his studies. Bishop Strossmayer was a Croatian Catholic prelate, politician, and benefactor. From 1849 until his death, he served as Bishop of Bosnia (Đakovo) and Syrmia. He used the substantial revenues of his diocese to found educational and art institutions, and between 1866 and 1882 he built the grand cathedral in Đakovo. He sought to unite the non-Catholic Serbs with Rome through the use of the Old Slavonic liturgy. Strossmayer played a key role in founding the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (today the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) in 1866, as well as in the re-establishment of the University of Zagreb in 1874. He initiated the construction of the Academy Palace (completed in 1880) and founded the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters (1884) in Zagreb.
After the Holy Mass, the president of the CroCMA and the FEAMC, Prof. Rok Čivljak, and the president of the CroCMA Branch in Zagreb, Dr. Ivan Barišić, thanked Bishop Svalina for his hospitality. As a memento of the visit, they presented him with two artworks by CroCMA member Stjepan Katić, one depicting the Chapel of Our Lady of the Stone Gate, patroness of the city of Zagreb, and the other showing the monument to King Tomislav with the towers of Zagreb Cathedral in the background.
After touring the Petrovaradin Fortress, the CroCMA pilgrims said farewell to their Srijem hosts, filled with impressions and enriched by new knowledge of this lesser-known region, which has played an important role in Croatian history.
Prof. Rok Čivljak
President of the CroCMA
President of FEAMC
