Saint Ladislaus was the first monarch who was able to address all the peoples of Central-Europe, Árpád János Potápi said when he opened the exhibition introducing the life, cult and spiritual heritage of Saint Ladislaus at the Zagreb Hungarian Cultural Institute on Thursday, in the presence of Hungarian President of the Republic János Áder and Croatian head of state Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.
At the opening of the exhibition entitled With Pure Faith and a Strong Hand, which was organised on the occasion of the Saint Ladislaus Memorial Year, Dénes Sokcsevits, Director of the cultural institute delivered a welcome speech, which was followed by opening speeches by Árpád János Potápi and Croatian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Zdravka Busic.
Mr Potápi stressed in his opening speech that the most important stations of the life of Saint Ladislaus designate the framework and space within which he lived and contemplated. He was born in the vicinity of Krakow, formed a diocese in Zagreb, died in Nyitra, and his final resting place is located in Nagyvárad. In the words of the Minister of State, with his brave valour, wise character, and strict, but yet just laws, the Hungarian monarch was the Central-European ideal of his time: the esteem in which he is held continues to connect together Croats, Poles, Slovaks and Hungarians also today.
„King Ladislaus, however, played a pioneering role not only in creating the Central-European ideal, but also in creating Hungarian-Croatian relations”, Mr Potápi said, adding: the cooperation of the two nations for over 800 years – which is unprecedented even in the context of the whole of Europe – began with him and by him. Zagreb became a stable centre of the region and the Kingdom of Croatia proved to be the most important ally of the Kingdom of Hungary during the reign of the successors of King Ladislaus I, the politician said.
„Since then, we, Hungarians and Croats have come a long way together. We have learnt during the course of our joint history that we can only rely on one another for defending the work that Saint Ladislaus left to us”, Mr Potápi stressed.
Zdravka Busic, State Secretary of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said: Croatia and Hungary are friendly countries which seek to foster the best possible relations. Beyond a number of common interests, the two countries are also allies in the European Union and NATO, she added. The State Secretary took the view: both countries are working towards long-term peace and stability in this part of Europe. She expressed hope that cooperation will become even stronger in the next few years.
Before the opening of the exhibition, President of the Republic János Áder paid a visit to the Zagreb Cathedral located in the vicinity of the Hungarian Cultural Institute, while after the event, he had a farewell meeting with the Croatian head of state.