Virgin Mary Statue Installed Near Heavily Traveled Adriatic Channel in Croatia

A three‑metre (four metres with base) statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus was erected beside the busy maritime channel between the islands of Ugljan and Pašman in the Adriatic Sea. Carved from Brač stone by stoneworker Vlado Knežević over 18 months at the Markvinia workshop in Biograd na Moru, the monument was blessed on 5 August 2026 by Zadar Archbishop Milan Zgrablić during a Mass marking the feast of Our Lady of the Snows.

The initiative, led by Kukljica parish priest Don Marko Vujasin and supported by the Archdiocese of Zadar, Croatia’s Ministry of Culture, the local municipality and donors, aims to serve as “a sign of faith and hope for sailors” navigating the channel, which sees more than 2,000 vessels daily in summer. After the blessing, a traditional boat procession carried the statue to the parish church of St Paul in Kukljica, continuing a centuries‑old local tradition.