Zagreb, (IKA) – On December 5, Pope Benedict XVI established the dioceses of Sisak and Bjelovar-Križevci.
Msgr. Vlado Košić, up to now an auxiliary bishop of Zagreb, has been named as the bishop of Sisak.
Msgr. Vjekoslav Huzjak, up to now the general secretary of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, has been named as the bishop of Bjelovar-Križevci.
The decision by the Holy Father was announced in the Zagreb cathedral by the apostolic nuncio in the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari, following the diaconate ordination Mass.
The new dioceses were established through the division of the territory of the archdiocese of Zagreb and are suffragan to the Metropolitan Church of Zagreb.
With the establishment of the new dioceses, the Ecclesiastical Territory of Zagreb now consists of the archdiocese of Zagreb, as the see of the metropolis, and the suffragan dioceses of the eparchy of Križevci for the faithful of the Byzantine Rite and the dioceses of Varaždin, Sisak and Bjelovar-Križevci.
The cathedral of the diocese of Sisak will be the present parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Sisak. St. Quirinus, bishop and martyr of Sisak, will be the patron saint of the diocese.
The cathedral of the diocese of Bjelovar-Križevci will be the present parish church of St. Teresa of Avila in Bjelovar, and the present church of the Holy Cross in Križevci will be the concathedral. The patron saint of the diocese of Bjelovar-Križevci will be the martyr St. Mark of Križevci (Marcus Stephanus Crisinus).

After the establishment of the dioceses of Sisak and Bjelovar-Križevci, Croatia now has 17 dioceses (including the military ordinariate). There are 5 ordinary archbishops, 12 ordinary bishops, 3 auxiliary bishops and 3 bishops emeriti.

Msgr. Vlado Košić was born on May 20, 1959 in Družbinac, the parish of Petrijanec, which is today part of the diocese of Varaždin. He completed studies in philosophy and theology at the Catholic School of Theology in Zagreb. He was ordained a priest of the Zagreb Archdiocese on June 30, 1985. In 1989, he received a master’s degree in dogmatic theology from the Catholic School of Theology in Zagreb, from which he earned a doctorate in theology in 1997.
Since 1995, Msgr. Košić has taught at the Department of Dogmatic Theology at the Catholic School of Theology in Zagreb. Pope John Paul II appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of Zagreb on December 29, 1998 and he was ordained on March 6, 1999 in the Zagreb cathedral. Until now, Bishop Košić has served as the general vicar of the archdiocese of Zagreb, episcopal vicar for the territory of Sisak and was in charge of the laity and culture. It the CCB, he is president of the Justitia et Pax Commission and the Council for Ecumenism and Dialogue. He has written a many of books and articles, delivered numerous lectures and participated in various scholarly and church symposia. Msgr. Košić is fluent in German and Italian, with a working knowledge of English.

Msgr. Vjekoslav Huzjak was born on February 25, 1960 in Jalžabet, which is today part of the diocese of Varaždin. From 1980 to 1986, he studied philosophy and theology at the Catholic School of Theology in Zagreb. He was ordained a priest of the archdiocese of Zagreb on June 29, 1986. In 1997, he was incardinated into the then newly established diocese of Varaždin. In 1993, he began postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, from which he earned a master’s degree in fundamental theology on June 16, 1995. On June 24, 1996, he received a master’s degree in Oriental ecclesiastical studies from the Pontifical Oriental Institute, where he also defended his doctoral dissertation on December 4, 2002.
Since March 1999, Msgr. Huzjak has served in the Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, with headquarters in Zagreb. In April of that year, he became the general secretary of the CCB and has served in this office up to the present. Since 2000, he has been a lecturer at the Catholic School of Theology in Zagreb. Msgr. Huzjak is fluent in Italian and German, with a working knowledge of English and French.