GIFT FROM PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA MILAN KUCAN TO POPE JOHN PAUL II ON HIS VISIT TO SLOVENIA

Ljubljana, 17 May 1996



Photo: BOBO

On the occasion of the visit to Slovenia by Pope John Paul II, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Kucan, made a gift to His Holiness symbolising the commitment to reconciliation and respect of difference between peoples and nations. The oil lamp, of a form similar perhaps to what was in the mind of the psalmist who wrote "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119, verse 105), was created by a young designer, Toni Kancija. For his work he received the students' Preseren Award, while earlier he was the recipient of the 1992 Biennial of Industrial Design jury Good Design Award for his work "In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn", and in 1994 the recipient of an Honourable Mention.

This lamp, which has a universal dimension through its symbolic elements, it universal appeal, and which connects us to the most ancient of human times, has been called the Light of Coexistence. Its design derives from the space between the clasped palms of two hands. The imprint of this space, or the pattern of the clasped palms in clay have been rendered to us in the form of a light, hand-made in silver. Silver symbolises purity and complements the purifying power of fire. The message of the light is incorporated into the letter of greeting accompanying the gift.

"The desire for peace and understanding is coursing through the souls of the Slovenian people who have found their homeland between the open gates of the East and West, the North and South. Over the centuries they have opened their hearts and offered bread and salt to those passing through. They have extended their warm hands in greeting; in them we see the traces of hope, and upon them are imprinted the lines of understanding.

Between these palms a light has been created, lit as a sign of reconciliation. It calls on us to open our arms, to take each other by the hand and to cleave ourselves to the flame of purification. It calls on us to embrace this silver symbol of purity and to preserve the good intention recorded in the poetry of a nation which recognises the beauties of the heavenly vault, and can also attain them even through the darkness of those winds that bear the barren seed of the past. " God's blessing on all nations, who long and work for that bright day, when over earth's habitations no war shall hold its sway " - these are not simply words of the Slovene anthem on the lips of those singing it, they also represent deeds which will be fulfilled. With this guiding flame, which in life and in the path from it accompanied the earliest inhabitants of Slovenia, we will find our light. This will be the light of hope, a shining ray of forgiveness, a light of coexistence."

Let us light it together.


Photo: BOBO


Photo: BOBO


Photo: BOBO