On Wednesday, April 28, 2021, the Archbishop Metropolitan of Ljubljana and President of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference, Msgr Stanislav Zore, awarded the medal of St. Cyril and Methodius to the academic sculptor Mirsad Begić for his faithful service to the Church among the Slovenes in the Ljubljana Cathedral of St. Nicholas.
The academic sculptor Mirsad Begić, as the author of the monuments of many Slovenian priests and bishops and other church equipment, marks and values Christianity on Slovenian soil recognizably and originally. With portraits and other church equipment, he has highlighted the historical role of the Catholic Church among the Slovenes over time in a lasting and original way and emphasized the work of many priests and bishops for the progress of the Slovenian nation. With works of art depicting Slovenian church personalities, he strengthens the respectful and open dialogue of the Slovenian society with Christianity and the Christian tradition. In the spirit of the Holy Father's Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, the Slovenian bishops recognize that the critical work of art by the sculptor Mirsad Begić connects brothers and sisters of different views and beliefs into a large human family. It creates new paths of peace that lead to wound healing and are the beginning of recovery and renewed encounter with ingenuity and audacity.
On March 8, 2021, at the 121st regular session of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference, the bishops decided to award the medal of St. Cyril and Methodius to the academic sculptor Mirsad Begić for his faithful service to the Church among the Slovenes.
