Valentin Pozaić, S.J. (15 September 1945 – 15 May 2023) was a Croatian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who served as a Titular Bishop of Petina (

Pićan Pićan ( Chakavian language, Chakavian: ''Pićon'', ) is a naselje, village and municipality in the central part of Istria, Croatia, 12 km southeast of Pazin; elevation 360 m. The chief occupations are agriculture and livestock breeding. It i ...

in Istria) and an Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Zagreb from 2 February 2005 until 13 May 2017.

Education

Pozaić was born into a Croatian Roman Catholic family of Janko and Agata (née Salar) near

Marija Bistrica Marija Bistrica () is a village and municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County in central Croatia, located on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain in the Hrvatsko Zagorje region north of the capital Zagreb. The municipality has 5,976 inhabitants, ...

in the

Hrvatsko Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica mount ...

region. After finishing primary school, which he attended in his native Selnica and

Bedekovčina Bedekovčina is a village and municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. It is connected by the D24 road (Croatia), state road D24 and R201 railway (Croatia), R201 railway. In the 2011 census, the total population of the municipality w ...

and graduation at a classical gymnasium 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 ...

, he joined a

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

and after the

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 ...

consequently studied at the Philosophical and Theological Institute of the Society of Jesus in Zagreb. He

professed A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding c ...

as a Jesuit and was ordained as

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 24 June 1973, after completed his philosophical and theological studies.

Pastoral and scientific work

Pozaić continued his studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

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, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

of the

Moral Theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

in 1975 and a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

degree in 1984. From 1977 to 1979 he was a member of the editorial board of the Croatian program of the

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio (; ) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, DRM, medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. ...

. After graduating, he returned to Zagreb and took up the position of professor of moral theology at the Philosophical and Theological Institute of the Society of Jesus. From 1990 to 1994, he taught

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

at the

in Rome. He was a professor of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Society of Jesus in Zagreb (that is affiliated with the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

). In his scientific work, he excelled in the field of bioethics, so he founded the Center for Bioethics at the Philosophical and Theological Institute of the Society of Jesus. From 1990 to 1993 he was a member of the Council of the

Episcopal Conference of Croatia The Croatian Bishops' Conference (; ) (HBK) is an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Croatia. The Conference was founded on May 15, 1993 after Croatia regained its independence after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, which ...

for the Doctrine of the Faith. Since 1991 he has been the spiritual assistant of the Croatian Catholic Medical Association, and since 1996 the spiritual advisor of the European Association of Catholic Physicians. From 1994 to 2000, he was the Rector of the College of the Society of Jesus in Jordanovac.

Prelate

On 2 February 2005, he 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 ...

as a Titular Bishop of Petina and an

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archdiocese of Zagreb. On 19 March 2005, he was consecrated as bishop by Cardinal

Josip Bozanić Josip Bozanić (; born 20 March 1949) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1997 to 2023. He was previously Bishop of Krk from 1989 to 1997. He was made a cardinal in 2003. Bozanić is the Grand Prio ...

and other prelates of the

Roman 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 ...

in the Cathedral of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Stephen of Hungary in

. Pozaić resigned as an Auxiliary Bishop on 13 May 2017 before reaching the age limit of 75 years old, because of a health reasons. He died in Zagreb on 15 May 2023, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozaic, Valentin 1945 births 2023 deaths People from Krapina-Zagorje County Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Academic staff of the Pontifical Gregorian University Academic staff of the University of Zagreb Croatian Jesuits Jesuit bishops Bioethicists 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Croatia Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Auxiliary bishops of Zagreb