A Catholic nun in Croatia’s capital was stabbed with a sharp object on Friday by a man who allegedly shouted “Allahu akbar” during the assault.
The victim, 34-year-old Sister Marija Tatjana Zrno, was attacked in the Malešnica neighborhood on Friday afternoon and later taken to the Sisters of Charity University Hospital, Narod.hr reported.
Although initial social media posts falsely claimed she had died, hospital staff confirmed she survived the attack and is undergoing treatment in Zagreb.
Police said they were notified by the hospital that a woman had been admitted with injuries consistent with a sharp object wound, prompting a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The Zagreb Police Department is treating the matter as a serious incident, though Jabuka.tv reported that authorities have not yet made any arrests or identified an official motive.
Multiple Croatian outlets, citing unofficial sources, reported that the assailant was a migrant who allegedly shouted religious phrases, including “Allahu akbar,” as he stabbed the nun.
The stabbing occurred outside the convent where Sister Zrno lives. After being attacked, she managed to return to the convent on her own before being transported to the hospital by someone she knew.
Sister Zrno belongs to the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and is originally from Šujica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She resides in a convent on Frankopanska Street in Zagreb and teaches religious education at a local primary school.
She is widely known across Croatia for her enthusiasm for football and became a recognizable media personality through her work on Laudato TV, where she hosted football-related programs and built a strong audience following.
Sister Zrno has often spoken about how she embraces football as a way to bring people together and serve as a means of evangelization.
She also co-organized a prayer initiative with Father Ivan Dominik Iličić called “Rosary for the Fiery Ones” during the World Cup, including a gathering before Croatia’s match against Japan that featured the grandmother of national team player Ivan Perišić, Narod.hr reported.
