[Scene: The Young Pope, Pope Pius XIII (Lenny Belardo), delivers a private address to a group of European cardinals in the Vatican gardens. The evening sun glows gold on the rooftops. He’s contemplative, passionate, and unmistakably radical as always.]
Pope Pius XIII (Lenny Belardo):
“Gentlemen… Croatia is on fire with faith.”
They say Europe is post-Christian. That belief has fled the continent like incense in the wind. But look east, to the Adriatic, and you will see a miracle forming—Croatia, that stubborn, wounded, beautiful land, is having a Catholic boom.
Why?
Because they remember.
They remember Jasenovac. They remember Bleiburg. They remember Tito’s godless chains. And they remember the rosary that their grandmothers clutched as the bombs fell.
In Zagreb, in Split, in Sinj, they are filling the pews—not for fashion, not for Instagram photos, but because they need God. They know what it’s like to lose Him.
They are not ashamed to kneel.
The West chokes on its irony and apathy. But in Croatia, boys still take their hats off in church. Girls still dress like the Madonna. And young men still dream of becoming priests—not influencers.
I saw a priest in Vukovar baptize a baby whose grandfather died defending that very parish during the war. Do you understand what that means? That is resurrection. That is the revival.
Christianity isn’t dead in Europe. It’s just gone underground… or better yet, east.
The blood of martyrs still nourishes the roots of the Church. And in Croatia, those roots are breaking through the concrete of nihilism.
Let them say we are backward. Let them laugh at processions and pilgrimages.
I say: Croatia is the future.
And the Holy See would do well to remember that.
So I propose this, with humility and divine fire:
Let us anoint a Croatian cardinal.
Let us hold World Youth Day in Medjugorje—yes, even if the bureaucrats in Rome still hesitate.
Let us follow the flame before it becomes a bonfire we can no longer contain.
The Church will not be saved by strategies. It will be saved by faith. And right now, Croatia believes.
(He pauses, stares at the horizon)
Maybe the next Pope… will speak with a Croatian accent.
[Scene continues: Pope Pius XIII (Lenny Belardo) walks slowly among olive trees in the Vatican gardens. Cardinals listen as he stops under a statue of the Virgin Mary.]
Pope Pius XIII (Lenny Belardo):
“You know why Croatia is different?”
Because in Croatia… they never let go of the Virgin.
While France crowned reason, and Germany worshipped the machine, and Britain sold its soul to commerce… Croatia kept lighting candles for Mary.
They call her Kraljica Hrvata — the Queen of Croats.
They sing to her in the hills of Marija Bistrica. They carry her through the streets of Sinj in armor and tears. In every home, a picture of her — not as a decoration, but as a mother. Their mother.
And that changes everything.
You see, while the rest of Europe tore down its cathedrals and replaced the rosary with antidepressants, Croatia whispered its prayers in the ruins.
They kept the faith through Ottoman swords, Habsburg indifference, Nazi puppets, and Communist silence.
Why?
Because they believed Mary was watching.
And now, I believe she is moving.
This… this is a Hail Mary play. A longshot. A miracle.
And it may be the only chance we have left.
Rome is tired. Paris is asleep. Berlin is cynical. But Croatia is awake. And Mary is waking with them.
I tell you: the revival of Europe will not come from Brussels. It will not come from billionaires or bureaucrats. It will come from a barefoot child walking to Medjugorje with a rosary in her hand.
That’s why the devil hates them. That’s why the media mocks them. Because they still believe the woman clothed with the sun can crush the serpent’s head.
So laugh, if you must.
But I see it clearly now:
This Hail Mary from Croatia… could save us all.
(He looks up at the statue of Mary, softening)
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Full of defiance.
Full of fire.
Lead us back from the edge.
Before it’s too late.