Zagreb. (IKA) – The first editor-in-chief of our agency, the Rev. (Don) Živko Kustić, died in Zagreb on July 19, 2014, at the age of 83, as announced by the Eparchy of Križevaci. A Greek Catholic priest, inspired preacher, one of the greatest names in Croatian journalism, mentor to generations of journalists, editor-in-chief of Glas Koncila and Živa zajednica for many years, he also wrote a number of books in which he interpreted the truth about Christian faith to the general public. Don Živko Kustić was a driving force and participant in several major initiatives of the Church among the Croats, including the establishment of the publishing house Kršćanska sadašnjost, the Croatian National Catechetical Olympics, the monthly children’s magazine Mali Koncil and the Catholic Press Agency IKA – Zagreb.
He will be especially remembered for his commentaries in the column Letters from the Village Pastor Don Jure, which he wrote for years in Glas Koncila, and the popular missions and spiritual exercises he conducted throughout the Church among the Croats and diaspora.
The Rev. Živko Kustić was born in Split on December 12, 1930, and ordained a Greek Catholic priest of the Križevaci Eparchy on May 5, 1958, in Križevci. From 1958 to 1963, he was the pastor of Mrzlo Polje and Sošice in Žumberak. From 1963 to 1972, he was a journalist, reporter and columnist at the Catholic daily newspaper Glas Koncila. From 1972 to 1983, he was the managing editor of Glas Koncila and served as the editor-in-chief from 1983 to 1990. From 1990 to 1991, he was an expert advisor at the Ministry of Emigration, in charge of the Department for the Activities of Religious Communities among Croats Abroad. From 1991 to 1993, he was the editor-in-chief of the publication Živa zajednica (Living Community) for migrant Croatian Catholics in Germany. From November 1993 to October 1998, he was the editor-in-chief of the Catholic Press Agency IKA – Zagreb. He also wrote columns for the secular publications Globus and Jutarnji list.
He was a member of the Croatian Association of Catholic Journalists (which presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2002), the Croatian Writers’ Association, vice president of the Croatian Journalists’ Association, and a member of the board of Croatian Catholic Radio. He was also a member of the Justice and Peace Commissions of the Yugoslav Conference of Bishops and Croatian Conference of Bishops. In the Eparchy of Križevaci, he was promoted by the Holy See from eparchial consultor to protopresbyter stavrofor.
The Rev. Kustić published a number of catechetical manuals: Velike religije svijeta (Great Religions of the World), Mali ključ Biblije (A Little Key to the Bible), Mali ključ povijesti Crkve u Hrvata (A Little Key to the History of the Church among the Croats), Tomica i njegova pisma (Tommy and His Letters), Mač duha (The Sword of the Spirit), Svadbeno ruho (Wedding Dress—A Catechism for First Communicants), Hoćeš li se krstiti? (Do You Want to Be Baptized?), Bog za odrasle (God for Grown-Ups), Abeceda biblijske vjere (The ABCs of Biblical Faith) and others. He is also the author of Hrvatska mit ili misterij? (Croatia: Myth or Mystery?), the novels Zaljubljeni robovi (Slaves in Love) and Denis dječak u prozoru (Denis: A Boy at the Window), the scripts for several films, and popular publications on the Blessed Alojzije Cardinal Stepinac, the Servant of God Fr. Ante Antić, Saint Maximilian Kolbe and others.
He is survived by four children, fourteen grandchildren and five great grandchildren, and was predeceased by his wife, Marica, and one son. In recent years, he lived in the Home for the Aged on Klaićeva Street in Zagreb.

On Tuesday, July 22, the funeral will be held at the Zagreb Crematorium at 10 a.m. and there will be a Requiem Mass at the Greek Catholic Cathedral of SS. Cyril and Methodius in the Zagreb Upper Town at 6 p.m.