The Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica ( la, Dioecesis Suboticana, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Subotička biskupija, Суботичка бискупија, hu, Szabadkai Egyházmegye) is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

. It is subject to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade. The Diocese is centered in the city of

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica i ...

Territory

The Diocese of Subotica encompasses the

n part of the

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hunga ...

region, which is situated in the Autonomous Province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

. The diocese's

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

is the Cathedral of Saint Teresa of Avila in Subotica, dating back to 1779. The diocese is multi-ethnic and has members primarily from the sizable Hungarian,

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

and Bunjevci communities, among others.

History

Until the end of

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the territory of the present-day Diocese of Subotica belonged to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kalocsa. After the collapse of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, region of Southern Bačka was incorporated into newly formed

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

(later known as

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

). On 10 February 1923, the ''Apostolic Administration of Yugoslav Bačka'' was created. Before the end of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, there was a sizable number of Roman Catholic Germans in the region of Bačka. On 25 January 1968, apostolic administration was elevated into the rank of diocese as "Diocese of Subotica". In 1986, it was placed under metropolitan jurisdiction of Roman Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade. From the middle 1980s, and especially during the 1990s, number of Catholics in the territory of this diocese decreased due to various reasons, including low birth rates among local Roman Catholics, economic emigration, and ethnic tensions of the

Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

Administrators and bishops

Apostolic Administrators of Jugoslavenska Bačka

*(1923–1958) Lajčo Budanović, since 1927 as titular bishop of

Cisamus Detail of a Roman mosaic found at Cisamus Statue of emperor Hadrian from Cisamus Cisamus or Kisamos ( grc, Κίσαμος) was town of ancient Crete. It appears as one of two towns of the name in the Peutinger Table 32 M.P. to the west of Cydoni ...

*(1958–1968) Matija Zvekanović, titular bishop of Burca

Diocesan Bishops

*(1968–1989) Matija Zvekanović *(1989–2020) János Pénzes *(2020–2022) Slavko Večerin

Auxiliary bishop

*(1955–1958) Matija Zvekanović, titular bishop of Burca

Education

The diocese runs the only Catholic high school in the country, the Paulinum gymnasium.

Press

Hitélet is the oldest Roman Catholic monthly magazine of the diocese in Hungarian, founded by László Huzsvár, the later bishop of

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbi ...

. Hírviviő is the weekly Roman Catholic magazine of the diocese in Hungarian. Zvonik is a Roman Catholic magazine founded by Croat priests from Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica. It's being published in Croatian.

Notable individuals

Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petković solicited for help in this Diocese and founded children's homes (for poor and abandoned children) and monasteries of her Order, Order of Daughters of Mercy.

External links

Bishopric of Subotica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Subotica

Bačka Subotica