On Sunday, 8 September 2024, the Bishop of Murska Sobota, Bishop Peter Štumpf, a Salesian, presided over a solemn concelebration in the presence of the Superior of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Province of Slovenia, Fr Peter Končan, numerous priests and many young people and families, as well as couples celebrating their wedding anniversaries (including a diamond and a golden anniversary).
At the heart of the celebration was the consecration of the new altar – the result of a renovation of the church, which has maintained its structure, making it brighter and rethinking some forms in the area of the presbytery – a moment of high symbolic value and an invitation to renew one's "yes" to God.
The consecrating Bishop first sprinkled the altar with holy water and, after a homily, consecrated it with the anointing of the holy chrism and the incense rite that rises to heaven from the centre of the altar of offering.
In his homily Bishop Stumpf explained, among other things, the meaning of the consecration of the altar: "The anointing oil, made of olive oil, balm and other fragrances, is consecrated by the bishop on the morning of Holy Thursday during the Chrism Mass. This oil is called holy chrism. Whoever is anointed with this holy oil is consecrated to God by the Holy Spirit. Already in the Old Testament the high priests, the Prophets and the Kings were anointed with the oil of the horn. Also in this consecration of the altar we will use the horn with the consecrated chrism, with which we are anointed in Baptism and Confirmation, and priests and bishops in priestly or episcopal ordination. The anointing with the holy chrism and the fragrance of incense speak to us of Christ's compassion for us in his sacrifice on the cross, when he justified us before his Father for Heaven".
At the end of the celebration, some words were dedicated to the Servant of God Fr Andrej Majcen – whose Positio is now being concluded – who, just 100 years ago, helped prepare the church for the consecration and entered the novitiate shortly afterwards.
Some initiatives were also dedicated to the animation of the Cause of Fr Majcen, such as interviews to make it known, the meeting with several hundred leaders from the Salesian summer activities just concluded, as well as listening to Salesians who can testify to his holiness and intercession.
There was also a theatrical moment fully dedicated to him, and it was precisely the young people who wrote and staged a representation of the life of the Servant of God. The show opens when he, during the 1991 war for independence, walked quietly outdoors in Rakovnik, while Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians sought shelter. From there, with some short dialogues and numerous flashbacks, the young people retraced his life, identifying themselves deeply in it and managing, despite the elevated topic and some dramatic events that marked Fr Majcen's biography, bringing numerous smiles and some laughter, in perfect Salesian style.
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