From April 28 to 30, 2023, our community gathered for a weekend we had been looking forward to for a long time: the 50th anniversary of Hrvatska škola Kardinal Stepinac. Since it was founded at St. Jerome in January 1973, our school has welcomed close to 650 children, who have learned to read and write in Croatian, sing Croatian songs, dance kolo and discover Croatian history.
The celebration began on Friday evening with a party for our young people in the St. Jerome hall. On Saturday afternoon, our students and Klub Stepinac took the stage at Benito Juarez Community Academy for a special 50th-anniversary edition of our Annual Concert, joined by our guests Hrvatska Baština, Hrvatska Loza and the Cleveland Jr. Tamburitzans. That evening, more than 500 alumni, students, families and friends filled the anniversary banquet at the Italian-American Club. We were honored to welcome Pjer Šimunović, Croatia’s Ambassador to the United States, together with Consul General Sanja Laković. The banquet was also a chance to thank the presidents, board members, teachers, parents, costume moms and Franciscans who built our school over five decades.
On Sunday, fra Jozo Grbeš celebrated the Mass of thanksgiving at St. Jerome. After Mass, we gathered for the groundbreaking and blessing of St. Jerome’s new parish center.
To everyone who has been part of these fifty years: thank you. Hvala svima, and here’s to the next fifty!
