A Catholic religious sister in Croatia was hospitalized on Friday afternoon after being stabbed in a residential district of Zagreb, the nation’s capital, in what early reports suggest may have been a religiously motivated attack.
Police have launched a criminal investigation, while Church sources, journalists, and hospital officials reportedly confirm that the sister is recovering and no longer in danger of losing her life.
The attack occurred on November 28 in the Malešnica neighborhood. The sister, who belongs to a Zagreb-based religious community, was struck in the abdomen with a sharp object, multiple times, before returning briefly to her convent and then being taken for emergency treatment at the Sisters of Charity University Hospital Centre.
Medical personnel notified police due to the nature of the wound, and officers later confirmed to local media that they had received a report of an injured woman and were “determining all circumstances of the incident.”
According to unofficial but widely reported information, the perpetrator was a migrant who shouted “Allahu akbar” during the attack. Croatian journalist Marin Vlahović was the first to publish details of the stabbing, writing that a “nun had been attacked with a knife in Zagreb” and that his trusted source confirmed the assailant was “allegedly a migrant” shouting “religious” slogans.
Vlahović later clarified that the sister was out of danger and said he wished to inform the public, “not raise tensions.”
The hospital confirmed that the sister arrived around 3 p.m. with “an injury inflicted by a sharp object in the area of the abdominal wall,” and that she was accompanied by a known person. Doctors emphasized she was not in life-threatening condition but required further evaluation and treatment. Police have not yet confirmed a motive, though sources cited by the Catholic Information Agency (IKA) said investigators are examining whether the attack contained “elements of religious or ideological motivation.”
Only later was the victim publicly identified as Sister Marija Tatjana Zrno, 34, a member of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, originally from Šujica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She resides in the congregation’s Zagreb monastery on Frankopanska Street and teaches religion at a local elementary school. Those who know her describe her as cheerful, joyous, and deeply Marian in spiritual devotion.
Sister Marija Tatjana is known throughout Croatia for her lifelong love of soccer, which she has always lived “openly and with a smile.”
Having made appearances on Laudato TV, she hosted soccer-related programs and quickly won viewer affection. She has previously explained that sport never conflicted with her vocation but instead helped her reach people: “a way of connecting people, joy, and evangelization.”
Her enthusiasm for initiatives combining faith and soccer once caught international attention. ACI Prensa and Catholic News Agency published an interview in which she drew parallels between sport and the spiritual life: “To be a successful football player, you have to train every day. It’s the same with spirituality: if you’re not persistent and don’t pray regularly, you’ll become lazy, lukewarm, and your life won’t bear fruit.”
A big fan of Croatian Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modrić, whom she has praised for wearing shin pads with images of Jesus, she organized the “Rosary for the Fire” prayer initiative for the Croatian national team during the World Cup alongside Fr. Ivan Dominik Iličić. This effort involved “young and old people from all over Croatia” and even included the grandmother of player Ivan Perišić.
She personally informed coach Zlatko Dalić about the initiative, which she said the team welcomed warmly. She praised Croatian players for consoling defeated opponents, saying that such gestures show “the progress of humanity.”
As the police investigation continues, Croatian Catholic media have urged prayers for Sr. Marija Tatjana’s full recovery.
