Željko Majić (born 28 March 1963) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian 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 is currently the bishop of

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

since March 2024. Before his appointment, Majić served as a

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan from 2012 to 2021.

Early life

Majić was born in

Drinovci Drinovci is a village in the municipality of Grude in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geographical location Drinovci is on the southeast side of the Imotski karst field. The population was 2,569 inhabitants according to the 2013 census. Population ...

near

Grude Grude () is a town and a municipality located in West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geography Grude is located 49 kilometers from Mostar, 19 kilometers from Imotski, and 1 ...

to father Mihovil and mother Matija. He has three brothers and two sisters. Majić attended elementary school in Drinovci from 1969 to 1977 and then studied at the gymnasium of the Dubrovnik Catholic seminary from 1977 to 1981. He then moved to

Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čač ...

in present-day Serbia for one year of military service in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

. Afterwards, he studied philosophy and theology at the High Theological School of

Vrhbosna Vrhbosna ( sr-cyrl, Врхбосна, ) was the medieval name of a small region in today's central Bosnia and Herzegovina, centered on an eponymous settlement (župa) that would later become part of the city of Sarajevo. The meaning of the name ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

from 1982 to 1988.

Priesthood

Majić was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno in the Mostar cathedral by Bishop

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 ...

on 29 June 1988. At first, Majić was appointed as the administrator of the clerical residence in Potoci, where he served from 1988 to 1989 when he was appointed a vicar in the cathedral parish in Mostar, where he stayed until 1993. Majić then proceeded to study pastoral theology at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

in Rome from 1993 to 1995, earning his MS in June 1995, with a thesis titled "''Problemi pastorali nella Diocesi di Trebinje durante la dominazione ottomana e la cura pastorale di

Propaganda Fide The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregati ...

''" (English: Pastoral issues in the Diocese of Trebinje during Ottoman rule and the pastoral care of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith). After returning from Rome, Majić held several priestly duties in

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

. He continued to be a vicar in the cathedral parish in Mostar from 1995 to 1997, when he was appointed the bishop's secretary, serving from 1997 to 2000. In the same period as a secretary, Majić also administered the parish of

. He was then named the parish administrator in Blagaj- Buna, staying there from 2000 to 2006. From June 2006 till September 2012, Majić returned to Rome as vice-rector of the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome. From November 2012 till July 2021 he served as

of the dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan, appointed by Bishop

Ratko Perić Ratko Perić (born 2 February 1944) is a prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1993 until his retirement in 2020. After his retirement in July 2020, he briefly ...

. At the same time, from 2013 till 2022, Majić served as administrator of the parish of

Crnač Crnač (Cyrillic: Црнач) is a village in the municipality of Kakanj Kakanj ( sr-cyrl, Какањ) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

. In 2019 Majić was appointed the director of Caritas for the dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan.

Episcopate

On 8 December 2023,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Majić as the bishop of

, to succeed

Franjo Komarica Franjo Komarica (born 3 February 1946) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Banja Luka from 1989 to 2023. Early life One of eleven children, Komarica was born in Novakovići near Banja Luka, ...

. He chose ''In nomine Domini'' (English: In the name of the Lord) as his episcopal motto. He was consecrated and installed as bishop on 2 March 2024 in the Banja Luka cathedral.

Views

Majić often expressed political views regarding the position of

Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats (), are native to Bosnia and Herzegovina and constitute the third most populous ethnic group, after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and Herzego ...

. In 2022, invited by HDZ MEP

Željana Zovko Željana Zovko (born 25 March 1970) is a Bosnian and Croatian diplomat and politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Croatia since 2016. She is a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Dem ...

to meet members of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

in Brussels, Majić appealed to them to help in stopping the disappearance of Catholic Croats, who he claimed were the biggest victims of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. He also criticised

High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...

Christian Schmidt Hans Сhristian Friedrich Schmidt (born 26 August 1957) is a German politician and member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Christian Social Union (CSU) who has been the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina since August 2021. ...

for not going far enough in changing electoral rules to address requests by Croat parties. He called for a third entity for Croats, claiming that "it would be fair that, if there are already entities, there should be as many as there are constitutive nations".

Footnotes

Bibliography

News articles

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Majic, Zeljko 1963 births Living people Clergy from Grude Pontifical Lateran University alumni University of Sarajevo alumni Bishops of Banja Luka Bishops appointed by Pope Francis 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina