Marko Perić (; 14 October 1926 – 5 June 1983) was a Montenegrin prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as the bishop of Kotor from 1981 until 1983. A native of

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

, Perić was ordained a priest in 1952. After holding several priestly duties, he was appointed a secretary of bishop

Petar Čule Petar Čule (18 February 1898 – 29 July 1985) was a Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Herzegovinian Croat prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the List of Roman Catholic bishops of Mostar-Duvno, bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Mostar ...

of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan. At the same time, he served both as general vicar and general provicar. Čule's successor

Pavao Žanić Pavao Žanić (20 May 1918 – 11 January 2010) was a prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1980 until his retirement in 1993. Previously, Žanić served as bisho ...

also named him general vicar in 1980, a post he retained until his appointment as the bishop of Kotor in 1981.

Biography

Perić was born in Donji Jasenjani near

in the parish of Bijelo Polje, at the time part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its collo ...

, to a family with nine children – four brothers and five sisters. He attended the elementary school of the Franciscan sisters in

Bijelo Polje Bijelo Polje (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бијело Поље, ) is a town located in the Northern Montenegro, Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Lim (river), Lim River. It has an urban population of 12,900 (2011 census). It is the ad ...

near Mostar from 1934 to 1938. Afterward, in 1938, he enrolled at the gymnasium in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

, where he studied until 7th grade which he finished in 1945. He continued his last high school grade only in 1947 in

Šalata Šalata () is a residential neighborhood in Zagreb, Croatia. It is administratively part of the Gornji Grad - Medveščak city district in the northern part of Zagreb and it has a population of 1,929. Šalata houses the Šalata Sport and Recre ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, where he graduated in 1948. In 1949, Perić entered the

Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb Catholic Faculty of Theology (, acronym: KBF) is a faculty of the University of Zagreb specialised for philosophical-theological studies. The Faculty was established in 1669. It includes a regional theology study in Rijeka. History The Catholi ...

, and graduated in 1953. There, he also earned his master's degree in 1954 and Ph.D. in 1966. Perić was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno on 29 June 1952 in Zagreb. At first, he served as a spiritual assistant in Bijelo Polje and Drežnica until 1953. Then, in 1954, he was appointed a chaplain in

Rašeljke Rašeljke is a village in the Municipality of Tomislavgrad in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, ...

near

Duvno Tomislavgrad ( Cyrl, Томиславград, ), also known by its former name Duvno ( Cyrl, Дувно, ), is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Tomislavgrad in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosni ...

. Afterward, he served as a parson in Vinica near

Ljubuški Ljubuški is a city in the West Herzegovina Canton, a federal unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravica (waterfall), Kravica cascades lie within the city, near the settlement of Studenci, ...

from 1954 to 1956 and in

Šipovača Šipovača () is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, the village is located in the municipality of Ljubuški. Demographics According to the 2013 census, its population was 643, all Croats The Croats (; , ) ...

, also near Ljubuški, from 1956 to 1957. He was appointed a secretary of bishop

, a post he held from 1958 to 1980. At the same time, from 1970 to 1971, Perić was a general vicar of the dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan. Afterward, he was general provicar with the powers of general vicar from 1971 to 1980. In 1972,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

granted him the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

. After Čule's retirement, Perić was appointed general vicar of his successor

, and served as such from 1980 to 1981. On 29 April 1981, Perić was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

to become the first bishop of Kotor after the vacancy of over 30 years. His episcopal consecration took place in Kotor Cathedral on 26 July 1981. Perić died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 5 June 1983.

Works

Perić's capital work is ''Hercegovačka afera'' (Herzegovina Affair), complied between 1965 and 1977, and published posthumously in 2002. His book deals with Herzegovina Affair, a historical dispute between the

Franciscan Province of Herzegovina Franciscan Province of Herzegovina of the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a province of the Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, l ...

and the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno. He also published numerous other works.

Footnotes

References

Books

News articles

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peric, Marko 1926 births 1983 deaths Clergy from Mostar Croats of Montenegro University of Zagreb alumni Yugoslav historians 20th-century Croatian historians Historians of the Catholic Church Roman Catholic bishops of Kotor Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic bishops in Yugoslavia