NEWS

Prime Minister Pahor attends ceremony at Maribor Festival dedicated to the memory of Bishop Slomšek

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, yesterday attended a ceremony marking the opening of Maribor Festival 2009, dedicated to the memory of Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek. The ceremony coincided with the day when, 150 years ago, Bishop Slomšek and his closest colleagues sang the solemn vespers in the Maribor parish church for the first time. "Slovene emancipation, transformation into a modern European nation, this miracle of our 19th century, is largely due to Anton Martin Slomšek's efforts," said the Prime Minister in his opening address.

 

Prime Minister Pahor also stressed the importance of Bishop Slomšek's work for Slovene cultural and religious history, as well as for higher education and the educational level of the population: "History has known various figures who shaped our time.  Some were an inspiration, others set an example, and some were an admonition to those born later.  Some were also all these things at the same time. But only individuals with their actions and plans had the privilege of representing not only a legacy but also a living heritage for future generations." In this regard, he highlighted, in particular, Anton Martin Slomšek’s modesty and ability to embrace modern views, saying that "even though Anton Martin Slomšek was a great initiator, he never claimed superiority. Quite the opposite: modest as he was, he drew attention whenever he could to the fact that credit was also due to his predecessors."

 

(Foto: Katarina Kosec/Bobo)

 

"The greatest achievement of Bishop Slomšek, which is also of national importance, was to transform the Diocese of Lavant into a mainly Slovene diocese in the southern part of Styria. By transferring the diocesan seat to Maribor, Anton Martin Slomšek stopped the Germanisation of the Slovene people in Slovene Styria," recalled Mr Pahor, stressing that special attention should also be devoted to Anton Martin Slomšek’s endeavours to achieve the ecclesiastical and administrative unification of the majority of Slovenes in Styria, which, after lengthy efforts, eventually happened in 1859.

 

At the close of his address, Prime Minister Pahor reiterated that, regardless of our personal attitude towards Bishop Slomšek, of "whether we agree or disagree with his views, of whether his personality was undisputed or, as it was for many people, controversial, he was a prominent figure in Slovene history.  He was even more a figure in Slovene national state-building history, and it is right that he be remembered with gratitude."