On Saturday, July 11th, Pope Francis accepted the resignation from the episcopal office of the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and the Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrka, Msgr. Ratko Perić and appointed to his place, Msgr. Petar Palić, the former bishop of Hvar.
This news was published exactly at noon in the Vatican and Mostar. After more than a year since Bishop Perić made his mandate available to the Holy Father due to the canonical age of 75 (February 2nd 2019.), two dioceses of Herzegovina have a new bishop in the person of Msgr. Palić.
The current bishop of Hvar is originally from Janjevo, the oldest Croatian diaspora in Kosovo. He was born on July 3rd 1972. in Prishtina, then the Skopje-Prizren diocese. After primary school, he attended the Classical Gymnasium in Skopje and Subotica, and from 1990. to 1995. the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Zagreb. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Dubrovnik on June 1st 1996. In October 2005., he enrolled in postgraduate studies at the Karl-Franzens Theological Faculty of the University of Graz, where he obtained his doctorate in theology in 2009.
He performed various services in the Diocese of Dubrovnik. Among others, he was: head of the Catechetic Office (1996.-2005.), personal secretary of the Bishop of Dubrovnik (1998.-2005.), director of the Institution for the Maintenance of the Clergy and Other Church Officials (1999.-2017.), episcopal vicar for pastoral care (2009.-2011.) and the Vicar General (2011-2017). At the same time, since 2017., he has been the Secretary General of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference.
Pope Francis appointed him for Bishop of Hvar on March 9th 2018., and he was ordained on April 30th 2018. in the Hvar Cathedral. He speaks German and Italian, and knows English, Russian and Macedonian.
At the head of the Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan dioceses he will replace Msgr. Ratko Perić, who first performed this service as a coadjutor bishop from 1992. and as an ordinary from June 11th 1993.
KT
www.nedjelja.ba
Mostar – July 11, 2020
