The Roman Catholic Diocese of Požega ( hr, Požeška biskupija; la, Dioecesis Posegana) is an ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, ...

region of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The diocese is centred in the city of Požega. It was first erected in 1997 after being split from the

Archdiocese of Zagreb The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, an ...

. The archdiocese had grown too large to effectively serve its faithful. Požega was selected as the seat of diocese because of its historic tradition, as an urban centre since the 13th century. It was also the site of the first institution of higher education in Slavonia - the Jesuit Academy established in 1761. The diocese covers the territory of western Slavonia as well as parts of

Podravina ''Podravina'' (in Croatian) or ''Podravje'' (in Slovenian) are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in Croatia and Slovenia. History Between 1929 and 1941 a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia known as the ''Drava Banovina'' (Drava province) ...

(

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...

) and

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning from ...

(

Nova Gradiška Nova Gradiška is a town located in the Brod-Posavina County of Croatia, population 14,229 (2011). It is located in the historic region of Slavonia, near the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first word in the name means ''New'', and there' ...

). This region suffered greatly during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yu ...

, and the need for the church to help in the recovery was another reason for the diocese's creation. Many church holdings were destroyed during the course of the war, and the recovery is still an ongoing process. The diocese has 270,000 faithful, who are organized into the

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence ...

Našice Našice () is a town in eastern Croatia, located on the northern slopes of the Krndija mountain in eastern Slavonia, 51 km southwest of regional hub Osijek. Administratively it belongs to Osijek-Baranja County. Geography Našice is located o ...

Nova Kapela Nova Kapela is a municipality in Brod-Posavina County, Croatia. There are 4,227 inhabitants in the following settlements: * Batrina, population 1,005 * Bili Brig, population 272 * Donji Lipovac, population 248 * Dragovci, population 362 * Gorn ...

Pakrac Pakrac is a town in western Slavonia, Croatia, population 4,842, total municipality population 8,460 (census 2011). Pakrac is located on the road and railroad connecting the regions of Posavina and Podravina. Name In Croatian the town is known a ...

, Požega and

with a total of 85 parishes. Currently, Bishop Antun Škvorčević is head of the diocese. The diocesan cathedral is Saint Teresa of Ávila Cathedral. On June 18, 2008, the diocese was shifted from suffragan to the

, to a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Djakovo-Osijek

Ordinaries

Antun Škvorčević Antun Škvorčević (born 8 May 1947) is a Croatian bishop, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Požega. Early life and education Antun Škvorčević was born in a small village of Davor on 8 May 1947 to Ivan and Ljubičica Škvorčević. ...

(5 Jul 1997 Appointed - )

External links

Official website

at Catholic-Hierarchy.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese of Pozega Christian organizations established in 1997 Dioceses established in the 20th century Pozega Požega, Croatia