The Croatian Bishops' Conference ( hr, Hrvatska biskupska konferencija; la, Conferentia Episcoporum Croatiae) (HBK) is an

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The Conference was founded on May 15, 1993 after Croatia regained its independence after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, which consequentially led to the abolition of the

Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia was an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church covering the territory of Yugoslavia. The first such bishops' conference was held in the Kingdom of Se ...

. HBK is composed of all active and

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

bishops; currently 32 (20 active, 11 retired, 1 military ordinary).

History

During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia declared its independence on June 25, 1991. The Holy See recognized Croatia on January 13, 1992. Croatian bishops made a proposal for the establishment of the Croatian Bishops' Conference. On May 15, 1993, the Holy See issued a decree by which it established governing body for the Croatian dioceses-Croatian Bishops' Conference. Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal

Franjo Kuharić Franjo Kuharić (15 April 1919 – 11 March 2002) was a Croatian Catholic cardinal, who served as the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1970 until his resignation in 1997. The cardinal was often referred to as the "Rock of Croatia" known for his defe ...

, was elected as a first Conference President. The HBK Statute was renewed on February 5, 2000. Cardinal

Josip Bozanić Josip Bozanić (; born 20 March 1949) is a Croatian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the eighth Archbishop of Zagreb, having previously served as Bishop of Krk from 1989 to 1997. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. He is a member ...

served as Conference president in two terms (1997-2007). At the HBK plenary session in October 2007 in the town of

Gospić Gospić () is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field ( Ličko Polje). Gospić is the ...

, Archbishop of Đakovo-Osijek Marin Srakić was elected as the President. Vice-Presidents of the Conference were Cardinal Josip Bozanić and Archbishop of Split-Makarska

Marin Barišić Marin Barišić (born Vidonje, near Metković, 24 March 1947) is a Croatian archbishop. He served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Split-Makarska, from 2000 to 2022. Early life and education Marin Barišić was born in Vidonje near Metković on ...

. At the 45th session of the HBK that was held on November 14, 2012 Archbishop of Zadar Želimir Puljić was elected as the fourth Conference President.http://www.hbk.hr/?type=vijest&ID=409 HBK and

Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( hr, Biskupska Konferencija Bosne i Hercegovine) is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina founded in 1994 by the Holy See. The president of the Conference is electe ...

takes care of the pastoral care of Croatian Catholics abroad. They also appoint together ''Episcopal Commission for the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome'' in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In addition, their common question are also liturgical books in Croatian. According to this, both Conferences have an annual common season. HBK is a member of Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe and

Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, formerly the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, ( la, Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae; COMECE) is the association of Catholic Church e ...

Organisation

Conference bodies are: *Episcopal Commission (for: 1. Liturgy, 2. Relations with the European Union, 3. Croatian Caritas, 4. Relations with the State, 3. a Dialogue with the Serbian Orthodox Church, 4. Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome) *Councils (for: 1. the Doctrine of Faith, 2. Catechizing, 3. Clergy, 4. Seminaries and Vocations, 5. Institutes of Consecrated Life, 6. Life and Family, 7. Laity, 8. Education, 9. Ecumenism and Dialogue, 10. Cultural and Church Cultural Assets, 11. Missions, 12. Pastoral Care of Migrants with committees for Pastoral Care of Tourists and Pastoral Care of Sailors, 13. Croatia Foreign Congregation with the National Office for the Croatian Foreign Congregation) *Commissions (1. Legal, 2. "Iustitia et Pax" ''(Justice and peace)'', 3. Joint Commission of the Croatian Bishops' Conference, 4. Croatian Conference of Major Superiors and Croatian Union of Major Superiors) *Committees (for: 1. Youth, 2. Social Communication, 3. Pastoral Care of Prisoners, 4. Pastoral Care of Roma) *General Secretariat *Offices of the General Secretariat (for: 1. Finances, 2. National Catechism, 3. Media, 4. Family, 5. Secular Societies, Movements and Communities, 6. Youth) *Institutes (1. Central Institution of the HBK for maintaining clergy and other officers, 2. Croatian Caritas, 3. Croatian Catholic Radio, 4. Catholic Press Agency, 5. Center for the Promotion of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 6. Croatian Institute for Liturgical Pastoral) The President and Vice President shall be elected for the time period of three years by bishops, with term renewable twice.

Members

Members of the Croatian Bishops' Conference are: *Active bishops: *Retired bishops:

Presidents

(1993–1997) *

(1997–2007) * Marin Srakić (2007–2012) * Želimir Puljić (2012–2022) *

Dražen Kutleša Dražen Kutleša (born 25 September 1968) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been archbishop of Split-Makarska in Croatia and Montenegro since 2022. He served as bishop of Poreč-Pula in Croatia from 2012 to 2020. He was bishop ...

(since 2022)

References

External links

Croatian Bishops' Conference
website ( Croatian)
Croatian Bishops' Conference webpage
GCatholic.org website {{Authority control