Stanislav Hočevar ( sr-cyr, Станислав Хочевар; born 12 November 1945) is the retired Slovenian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

. He was the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Archdiocese of Belgrade in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

between 2001 and 2022. He was also the president of the

International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius The International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius is the Catholic episcopal conference that includes Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia together in a cross-border conference. Permanent members are the Catholic bishop ...

between 2001 and 2011.GCatholic.or
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Beograd, Serbia
/ref>

Biography

Hočevar was born on 12 November 1945 in the village of Jelendol in

PR Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...

, then part of the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

. After the primary school graduation in 1960 in Škocjan, he joined the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

. He studied gymnasium in

Križevci Križevci (; la, Crisium; hu, Kőrös ; german: Kreutz ) is a city in central Croatia with a total population of 21,122 and with 11,231 in the city itself (2011), the oldest city in its county, the Koprivnica-Križevci County. History The f ...

and

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

. Hočevar served in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

in 1966/67 in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

. After that, he was instructor at the

catholic novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether t ...

Želimlje Želimlje (; german: Schelimle) is a settlement in the Municipality of Škofljica in central Slovenia. The municipality is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region. Geography ...

near

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the Theological Faculty in Ljubljana. Hočevar was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 29 June 1973. He achieved a

magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the ...

at the Theological Faculty in Ljubljana in 1979 with

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on '' Personal sin in today's

hamartiology In Christianity, sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression of divine law. The doctrine of sin is central to the Christian faith, since its basic message is about redemption in Christ. Hamartiology, a branch of Christian theology ...

''.Arcbihop page
at the Archdiocese of Belgrade official site Between 1982 and 1984, Hočevar was the deputy of the Salesian Provincial of Slovenia. Later, he served four years as the principal of the catholic boarding school in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 1988 he was appointed Salesian Provincial of Slovenia, the position he held until 2000. He has taken part in four Salesian General Chapters 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 ...

. He served two terms as the president of the Conference of senior religious leaders of Slovenia, and then for two years as the Secretary General of the same conference. In 1999, during the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

, Hočevar launched an initiative titled "Peace to you,

the Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

" and also established a fund for families with many children called "Anin sklad" (''Ana's Harmony''). In 2000

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Hočevar the

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of Belgrade. He was ordained a bishop on 24 May 2000 in the Church of Mary Help of Christians in Ljubljana. On 31 March 2001, pope accepted a request for the removal of the former archbishop France Perko, so Hočevar became Archbishop of Belgrade. On 16 April 2001 he was elected president 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 Ser ...

, later renamed

, an office he served until 2011. On 5 November 2022, it was announced that Pope Francis had accepted Hočevar's resignation as Archbishop of Belgrade and on the same day it was announced that Ladislav Nemet, bishop of Zrenjanin since 2008, would succeed him.Holy See Press Office (press.vatican.va) (in Italian
Rinunce e nomine, 05.11.2022.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hocevar, Stanislav 1945 births 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Serbia Clergy from Belgrade Slovenian Roman Catholic archbishops Living people People from the Municipality of Škocjan Salesian bishops