Marjan Turnšek (born 25 July 1955) is a Slovenian

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 the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Murska Sobota from 7 April 2006 until 28 November 2009, coadjutor archbishop of Archdiocese of Maribor from 28 November 2009 until 3 February 2011 and as an archbishop of the same archdiocese since 3 February 2011 until his resignation on 31 July 2013.

Education

Turnšek was born into a Roman Catholic family in a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. After finishing primary school and graduation a classical gymnasium in his native city

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

in 1974, he was admitted to the Major Theological Seminary in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

and in the same time joined the Theological Faculty at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

, where studied from 1974 until 1981 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 June 28, 1981 for the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Maribor The Archdiocese of Maribor (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Slovenia. Its episcopal see is Maribor. History * 1859 : Maribor (then Marburg) became the see of the Diocese of Lavant * Ma ...

by Bishop Franc Kramberger, after completed his philosophical and theological studies.

Pastoral and educational work

After his ordination Fr. Turnšek served as an assistant priest in the parish of St. Martin in

Velenje Velenje (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 272.) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, sixth-largest city of Slovenia, and t ...

(1981–1985) and after that he continued his postgraduate 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, ...

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with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1987 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 1990. During this time he also graduated in a

Library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

at the

Vatican Apostolic Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. From 1990 he worked as a research associate at the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

, and since 1993 he has been a member of the European Society for Catholic Theology and was also a member of the secretariat of the Synod (plenary assembly) at the Episcopal Conference of Slovenia (1997–2001). In 1994 he was appointed the Rector of the Major Theological Seminary in

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

, and in 1999 a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in

. From 1990 to 2010 he taught regular and elective lectures, exercises and seminars in the field of systematic (dogmatic) theology at the Faculty of Theology, University of Ljubljana at the unit in

and

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Prelate

On April 7, 2006, he was appointed by

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 ...

as the diocesan bishop of the newly erected

Roman Catholic Diocese of Murska Sobota The Diocese of Murska Sobota (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Murska Sobota in the ecclesiastical province of Maribor in Slovenia. History * April 7, 2006: Established as Diocese of Murska Sobota from ...

. On June 25, 2006, he was consecrated as bishop by Metropolitan Archbishop Franc Kramberger 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 Saint John the Baptist in

. On November 28, 2009 he was transferred to the Archdiocese of Maribor as its

coadjutor archbishop The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

, and on February 3, 2011 Mons. Turnšek succeeded his predecessor as an archbishop. He resigned on July 31, 2013 before reaching of the age limit of 75 years old, due to his partial responsibility for the financial crisis of the archdiocese, and continued to teach at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Ljubljana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnšek, Marjan 1955 births Living people People from Celje University of Ljubljana alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Slovenia Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI