Catholic Church in Croatia


Catholic Church in Croatia
Croatian: Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj
TypeNational polity
OrientationLatin and Greek Catholic
GovernanceEpiscopal
PopePope Francis
Apostolic NuncioGiorgio Lingua
PresidentDražen Kutleša
RegionCroatia
LanguageCroatian, Latin
HeadquartersZagreb
FounderPope John IV and Abbot Martin, according to tradition
Originc. 65: in Roman Illyricum
c. 640: Croatian Christianity
Members3,057,586 (2021)
Ministersc. 3800[1]
Official websiteCroatian Bishops' Conference

The Catholic Church in Croatia (Croatian: Katolička crkva u Hrvatskoj) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church that is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope. The Latin Church in Croatia is administered by the Croatian Bishops' Conference centered in Zagreb, and it comprises five archdioceses, 13 dioceses and one military ordinariate. Dražen Kutleša is the Archbishop of Zagreb.

A 2011 census estimated that there were 3.7 million baptized Latin Catholics and about 20,000 baptized Eastern Catholics of the Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia in Croatia, comprising 86.3% of the population. As of 2017, weekly church attendance was relatively high compared to other Catholic nations in Europe, at around 27%.[2] A 2021 Croatian census showed that 79% of the population is Catholic and 3.3% is Serbian Orthodox.[3]

The national sanctuary of Croatia is in Marija Bistrica, while the country's patron is Saint Joseph: the Croatian Parliament unanimously declared him to be the national patron in 1687.[4]

  1. ^ "Koliko ima pedofila u Crkvi?". 22 July 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe". Pew Research Center. 10 May 2017.
  3. ^ US State Deptartment 2022 report
  4. ^ "Sv. Josip - zaštitnik hrvatske domovine". Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. At its season on June 9th and 10th 1687 Croatian Parliament encouraged by the Bishop of Zagreb Martin Borković, unanimously declared St Joseph to be the patron of the Croatian Kingdom