International Mariological Academic Conference

On 9 and 10 October, the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb hosted an international Mariological academic conference entitled ‘The Image of the Virgin Mary in the 21st Century: Theological and Cultural Perspectives’. The organizing team beside the hosts included the International Pontifical Marian Academy (PAMI) from the Vatican and the Faculty of Theology of the University of Ljubljana.

The conference featured 18 lectures that explored Mariological themes from the perspectives of Christology, ecclesiology, anthropology, interfaith dialogue, pastoral theology and catechesis. The speakers also reflected on the direction of popular Marian devotion and on the figure of Mary in film, contemporary musical genres and the visual arts.

Associate Professor Dr Alenka Arko also contributed a lecture on the relational nature of Marian images of grace.

The symposium concluded with a study pilgrimage to Marija Bistrica.