Dražen Kutleša (; born 25 September 1968) is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n 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 became

Archbishop of Zagreb The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zagreb (; ) is the central Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, and the present archbishop is Dražen Kutleša. It ...

in April 2023 after two months as archbishop coadjutor. He was the Archbishop of Split-Makarska from 2022 to 2023, after serving as Bishop of Poreč and Pula from 2012 to 2020. A native of

Tomislavgrad 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 ...

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 ...

, Kutleša was raised in the nearby paternal village of Prisoje, where he attended an elementary school. After deciding to become a priest and joining the seminary, he attended a high school in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

and then the College of Theology of Vrhbosna in

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 ...

beginning in 1987. He graduated in 1993 after spending his final academic year in Bol due to the war. The same year, he was ordained as a deacon and a priest and served two years as a chaplain in

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 ...

. He continued his education in 1995 at the

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

, studying

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, eventually earning his PhD in 2001. From 2000, he served as secretary to the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, and from 2003, he was a parish administrator in

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 ...

and a lecturer of law at the Theological Institute of Mostar. In 2006, Kutleša became a member of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

and, in 2011, an associate of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

. The same year, he was appointed as the bishop coadjutor of Poreč and Pula; after the resignation of Ivan Milovan in 2012, he became the bishop. In 2020, he was appointed archbishop coadjutor of Split-Makarska and in 2022 succeeded Marin Barišić as the archbishop. The same year, he became a member of the

Dicastery for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the congregation (Roman Curia), department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require pope, papal app ...

and was elected president 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 ...

. Serving as the archbishop of Split-Makarska for only ten months, Kutleša was appointed the archbishop coadjutor of

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 ...

in 2023 and succeeded

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 ...

that year.

Early life

Dražen Kutleša was born in

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 ...

, present-day Tomislavgrad, in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, to father Krešo and mother Danica née Ćurić, both from the village of Prisoje. Because his father, like many men from his region, was a ''

gastarbeiter ; ; both singular and plural) are foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (). As a result, guestworkers are generally considered t ...

'' (guest worker) in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, Dražen and his brother Grgo were raised by their mother. He was christened in the village church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Known as a lively child, he attended the village elementary school from 1975 to 1983. His mother initially opposed his decision to become a priest. Nevertheless, 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 ...

accepted him into the seminary and sent him to Ruđer Bošković Gymnasium in

, where he studied from 1983 until graduation in June 1987. In 1987, Kutleša enrolled at the College of Theology 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 ...

, spending his last academic year of 1992–93 in Bol on the island of

Brač Brač is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide.College of Theology of Vrhbosna was a branch of 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 ...

. He graduated with the thesis ''Od konstitucije 'Romanos Pontifices' (1881) do dekreta 'Romanis Pontificibus' (1975)'' () under the mentorship of Ratko Perić. His brother Grgo joined the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

and lives in

Split, Croatia Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see #Name, other names), is the List of cities and towns in Croatia, second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast ...

, where he works for the

Croatian Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia ( or MORH) is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of the nation's military. It is Croatia's ministry of defence. The ministry was established in 1990. Structure Element ...

Priesthood

Kutleša was ordained a deacon in Bol on 13 March 1993 by Bishop Pavao Žanić and was ordained a priest in his home village, also by Žanić, on 29 June 1993. He chose Psalm 86:12, "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name forevermore", as his priestly motto and celebrated his first mass in Prisoje on 25 July 1993. From 1993 to 1995, Kutleša was a chaplain in the Mostar cathedral and taught religious education in

Gimnazija Mostar Gimnazija Mostar ( sr-cyr, Гимназија Мостар) is a gymnasium in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Formerly called Gimnazija "Aleksa Šantić" (Гимназија "Алекса Шантић") in honour of the eponymous poet, it is no ...

. In 1995, he was sent to study

at the

in Rome with a stipend from the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

, living on the premises of the Society of St. Peter the Apostle. He earned his master's degree with the thesis ''I rapporti tra il Vescovo diocesano e i Religiosi nell'attività apostolica della Diocesi secondo il C.I.C. (cann. 678–683)'' (). He spent the academic year 1996–97 studying administrative practice at the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regard ...

. During the next academic year, Kutleša passed the exams necessary to enrol in postgraduate studies in canon law. In 1998, Kutleša wrote a dissertation, primarily while living in Mostar and working for the diocese. That same year, Kutleša was appointed vice chancellor of the diocese, and in 2000, he became personal secretary to Perić, who succeeded Žanić as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno. On 18 June 2001, Kutleša received his PhD after defending his dissertation in front of Vittorio Pio Pinto, a judge of the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...

, the highest court of the Catholic Church. In 2003, he published parts of his dissertation in Mostar titled, in Italian, ''Il Triangolo: i Frati Francescani OFM, il Vescovo diocesano e il Clero diocesano nella Diocesi di Mostar-Duvno dal 1881 al 1975 alla luce dei cinque più importanti documenti'' (). In 2003, Kutleša was appointed parish administrator in

. His parish, nominally under diocesan administration, was usurped by three suspended Franciscan friars. In the same period, he delivered lectures on law at the Theological Institute of Mostar. At the request of Cardinal

Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020. He was elevated to the rank of Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal in 2001 and s ...

, prefect of the

, Kutleša joined the Congregation on 1 April 2006. From February 2011, Kutleša was also an associate of the

for cases involving granting exemptions from difficult and unconsummated marriages. On 13 May 2011,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

gave 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 ...

Episcopate

Poreč and Pula

On 17 October 2011, Pope Benedict XVI named Kutleša bishop coadjutor of Poreč and Pula with special powers in Croatia. He was consecrated a bishop in the

Euphrasian Basilica The Euphrasian Basilica (, ) or the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Mary is a Roman Catholic basilica in the Istrian town of Poreč, Croatia. The episcopal complex, which comprises the basilica itself, a sacristy, a baptistery and the bel ...

Poreč Poreč (; known also by several alternative names) is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, west Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, which was designated a UN ...

on 10 December 2011 by Cardinal

Marc Ouellet Marc Armand Ouellet (; born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 2010 to 2023. He is a member of the Sulpicians. Ouell ...

with bishops Ivan Milovan of Poreč and Pula, and Perić of Mostar-Duvno, as co-consecrators. As his episcopal motto, he took that of

Cardinal

Aloysius Stepinac Aloysius Viktor Stepinac (, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1953, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his death, a period which included the fascist rule of th ...

: "In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped". Kutleša's appointment occurred during a dispute over the ownership of the Dajla monastery and its accessory properties between the Italian

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

and the Diocese of Poreč and Pula. The special powers granted to him related to the dispute over Dajla as well. The Italian Benedictines, with strong support from the Holy See, filed lawsuits in church courts and the Municipal Court in

Buje Buje (; ) is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula. Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic Sea. History Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the region date b ...

(later incorporated in the Municipal Court in

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

). A three-member Church commission, including the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal

, ruled in favour of the Benedictines. Milovan refused to sign the agreement, so the Holy See appointed Cardinal

Santos Abril y Castelló Santos Abril y Castelló (born 21 September 1935) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church. After a career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, he held a number of positions in the Roman Curia and from 2011 to 2016 was Archpriest of the ...

as a special signator in Milovan's stead. The agreement put the diocese at risk of bankruptcy as it required the diocese to pay millions of euros in compensation to the Benedictines and to return the monastery. Milovan, in return, sought support from the Croatian government. In August 2011, the Minister of Justice, Dražen Bošnjaković, invalidated the return of the real estate to the Church and took it under state ownership, saying that the restoration of the property to the Church was invalid, as the real owners in Italy had already been compensated. The property had never belonged to the Diocese in the first place. The Papal Secretary of State sued Croatia on behalf of the local parish, and in April 2013, the High Administrative Court of Croatia annulled the Ministry's decision. The new Croatian government led by

Zoran Milanović Zoran Milanović (; born 30 October 1966) is a Croatia, Croatian politician and the incumbent president of Croatia. First elected in 2020, he was re-elected in 2025 with 74% voter support. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was the prime min ...

promised not to be involved in what they considered to be intra-church relations. On 14 June 2012, Milovan was forced to request his retirement and was succeeded by Kutleša, his coadjutor. However, just when the commission's decision was supposed to take effect,

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 ...

was elected on 13 March 2013, and Secretary of State Cardinal

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

, who supported the Benedictines, was replaced on 15 October 2013. In 2015, the Municipal Court of

ruled against the Benedictines, dismissing their lawsuit, a decision confirmed by the County Court of Pula after the appeal. Journalist Darko Pavičić wrote that since Kutleša took over the Diocese, the destiny of the ecclesiastical process over Dajla remained unknown, and considering that the Diocese survived financially, Pavičić wrote that Kutleša resolved the intra-church conflict between the Benedictines and the Diocese. In August 2017, the government of

Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven List of members of the European Parliament for Croatia, 201 ...

donated the state-owned property Villa Idola in

to the Diocese to house its offices. The minister of state assets, Goran Marić, said that his Ministry could not restore the property confiscated from the Church by the communist authorities and that this donation "rights the wrongs from the past".

Split-Makarska

On 11 June 2020,

appointed Kutleša archbishop coadjutor of Split-Makarska, naming him

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Poreč and Pula as well. Kutleša was installed as coadjutor in the

Cathedral of Saint Domnius The Cathedral of Saint Domnius (), known locally as the ''Sveti Dujam'' or colloquially ''Sveti Duje'', is the Catholic cathedral in Split, Croatia. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska, currently headed by Archbishop ...

in Split on 3 September 2020, and he succeeded as archbishop when Marin Barišić retired on 13 May 2022. On 13 July 2022, Pope Francis appointed Kutleša a member of the

. On 18 October 2022, he was elected to succeed

Želimir Puljić Želimir Puljić (7 March 1947) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of Zadar from 2010 to 2023 and bishop of Dubrovnik from 1989 to 2010. He briefly served as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese ...

as the president of the

for a five-year term.

Zagreb

When Kutleša had been archbishop of Split-Makarska for only ten months, on 14 February 2023, Pope Francis appointed him archbishop coadjutor of Zagreb. The same day, Puljić was appointed as apostolic administrator of Split-Makarska. Bozanić, who had asked for a coadjutor because of his deteriorating health, expressed his wish that Kutleša succeed him as soon as possible. On 15 April 2023, Pope Francis accepted Bozanić's resignation, and Kutleša immediately succeeded him as archbishop; the installation ceremony was held on 29 April 2023. Kutleša was among one-third of the bishops and other delegates selected by Pope Francis from 364 to participate in the

Synod on Synodality The 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, commonly referred to as the Synod on Synodality, was a Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church, Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church which concluded 27 October 2024 and has as its th ...

. He participated both sessions. The first session was held from 4 to 29 October 2023, and the second from 2 to 27 October 2024.

Footnotes

References

News articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Websites

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kutlesa, Drazen 1968 births Living people Clergy from Tomislavgrad University of Zagreb alumni Pontifical Urban University alumni 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina Roman Catholic priests Officials of the Roman Curia Bishops of Poreč-Pula Archbishops of Split-Makarska Archbishops of Zagreb Members of the Congregation for Bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Bishops appointed by Pope Francis 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Croatia Croatian Roman Catholic archbishops