Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, visited Alma Mater Europaea University in Maribor during the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Maribor. The distinguished guest was received and welcomed at Alma Mater by Rector Prof. Dr. Ludvik Toplak. The visit was marked by the Marian symposium “Mary as the Dawn of Hope,” at which the cardinal appeared as the keynote speaker.
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome, also visited Alma Mater Europaea University in Maribor on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, as part of his first visit to Slovenia.
Cardinal welcomed at Alma Mater by Rector Ludvik Toplak
At the university, he was received by Rector Prof. Dr. Ludvik Toplak, who welcomed him and emphasized the importance of dialogue between science, culture, historical heritage, and spiritual values.
“On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Maribor, it is a special honor for us to host Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas. The university is a place of knowledge and open dialogue, but also a meeting point of scientific, cultural, and spiritual heritage, which has significantly helped shape the European space,” Rector Prof. Dr. Ludvik Toplak emphasized at the reception.
During the meeting, Cardinal Makrickas presented Rector Toplak with a reproduction of the famous Marian icon Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the Roman People), which is kept in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, as a remembrance of the visit. The gift carries special symbolism, as Cardinal Makrickas is the Archpriest of this very basilica, one of the most important Marian churches in the world. The image also connected the Cardinal’s visit to Alma Mater in a special way with the central theme of the Marian symposium.
Alma Mater as a venue for academic dialogue on Marian heritage
The central part of the events at Alma Mater was the symposium “Mary as the Dawn of Hope. Eight Centuries of Mary’s Presence in the Territory of the Lavant-Maribor (Arch)diocese”, organized by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Ljubljana and the Archdiocese of Maribor.
Marking the 800th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Maribor, the symposium brought together historical, theological, liturgical, and cultural perspectives on the Marian tradition in the area of the former Lavant Diocese and today’s Archdiocese of Maribor.
As the symposium’s central guest, Cardinal Makrickas delivered the keynote lecture “Where Mary Is at Home, the Church Is Alive”. As Archpriest of the basilica where the icon Salus Populi Romani has been preserved for centuries, he spoke about the significance of Mary’s presence for the Church and for modern man.
The symposium was also attended by Maribor Archbishop Metropolitan Msgr. Alojzij Cvikl, M.A., SJ, and lectures were also given by Archbishop Emeritus of Maribor Dr. Marjan Turnšek, Dr. Cecilija Oblonšek, Fr. Dr. Gerfried Sitar, OSB, and Dr. Jan Dominik Bogataj. The speakers highlighted various aspects of the rich Marian tradition – from Blessed Anton Martin Slomšek’s relationship with Mary and Marian liturgical chants to Marian devotion in Carinthia and the Mariology of Victorinus of Ptuj.
Before the symposium, Cardinal Makrickas also attended the opening of the historical exhibition in Slomšek Hall “From the Diocese of Lavant to the Archdiocese of Maribor: Eight Centuries of History – a Gift to God and to People”, prepared on the occasion of the major jubilee of the Archdiocese of Maribor.
The Cardinal’s visit to Maribor had already begun in the morning on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, when he presided over a solemn concelebration at the Marian shrine on Gorca in Malečnik and blessed the renovated façade of the shrine. The ceremony was also attended by the Rector of Alma Mater Europaea University, Prof. Dr. Ludvik Toplak.
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas’s visit to Alma Mater, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Maribor, connected the academic environment with the rich historical, cultural, and spiritual heritage of Maribor and the wider Central European area. At the same time, the symposium offered a space for reflection on a heritage that goes beyond historical memory and remains part of the contemporary European cultural and spiritual landscape.
