The newly built submarine pipeline, which provided the island and sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy in the Bay of Tivat with drinking water for the first time in its centuries-old history, was inaugurated today in the presence of high dignitaries of the Diocese of Kotor, leaders of the Municipality of Tivat, representatives of the Krašići Parish, which includes this monastery and church, as well as numerous citizens and representatives of companies that support the extensive project of gradual renovation of this significant cultural monument.
The Municipality of Tivat allocated 101.000 euros from its budget for the construction of the submarine pipeline that brought drinking water from Obala Đuraševića to the island of Our Lady of Mercy. The total length of the pipeline is 1.200 meters, of which 800 meters are in the sea, and the work was carried out by the company "Indel inženjering" from Nikšić.
The Mayor of Tivat Željko Komnenović had the honor of symbolically opening the fountain and pouring the first glasses of water, with which the gathered people toasted in honor of the commissioning of the water supply system for Our Lady of Mercy, while the water supply system was blessed with a short prayer by the Bishop of Kotor, Monsignor Mladen Vukšić.
"I am glad that today we are returning a debt, first of all to the believers who visit this sanctuary, to all the citizens of Tivat whose cultural and historical heritage this is. Running water is an act of civilization and we as the Municipality were obliged to fulfill that request and request of Don Ivo Ćorić, the parish priest Krašić who manages this monastery and sanctuary, and we did so with great pleasure. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the complex implementation of this project, which was not at all simple because this was a complex engineering undertaking," said Mayor Komnenović, emphasizing that the Municipality of Tivat believes that basic infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, hospitals, schools, "is a general, public interest, and unfortunately, we all as a society have forgotten that a little bit today because we primarily look at some individual interests."
"I therefore hope that today's symbolic act will return us to general Christian values and that we will all move in that direction together as a society," concluded Komnenović.
Greeting the gathering, the administrator of the monastery and sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rocks, priest of the Kotor Bishopric, Don Ivo Ćorić, recalled the long and rich history of this unique place where the monastery was first built by the Benedictines in the 12th century, and later the Cistercians, Franciscans and Jesuits were also present. He emphasized that the final arrival of the water on the island is a historically significant event of crucial importance for the further restoration and future spiritual and cultural life of this islet and the sanctuary on it. Our Lady of Mercy is an ornament of the Tivat Bay, it is an island that is older than the much more well-known similar Boka,lj island sanctuary - Our Lady of the Rocks in front of Perast.
"This island and the sanctuary on it are under the protection of UNESCO, and not only of the State Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Montenegro. In this church there is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary - unique in all of Europe because it depicts the Mother of God in a state of grace, or bliss. From today, all of us together are richer emotionally, culturally and spiritually," said Don Ćorić, pointing out that in addition to bringing water to the island, the renovation and replacement of the roof on the church, monastery and all accompanying buildings has already been completed, and 12 former monks' rooms in the monastery have been renovated, all of which have received new bathrooms and toilets.
"The restoration continues with the aim of making this island and the sanctuary shine fully as a center of spirituality, a center of interreligious and cultural dialogue. This island will no longer be neglected and forgotten, either unjustly or in any other way, but will be, in the full sense of the word, the pearl of the Bay of Kotor and, above all, a Marian sanctuary. On that behalf, I sincerely thank the Tivat Municipality and all others who support our efforts in this direction," concluded Don Ivo Ćorić, who then gave Mayor Komnenović, Vice President of the Municipality of Tivat Jovan Brinić and their associates a detailed tour of the island, church and monastery and showed them valuable art objects, the library and other contents of this sanctuary.
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