Vatican, (IKA) – The Apostolic Nuncio in the Republic of Croatia, Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari, announced on Monday, January 24, that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Msgr. Mate Uzinić, a priest of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska and rector of the Central Theological Seminary in Split, as the Bishop of Dubrovnik. Msgr. Želimir Puljić, Archbishop of Zadar, will continue to serve as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Dubrovnik until the new bishop is ordained and assumes his duties.
Msgr. Mate Uzinić was born on September 17, 1967, in Dubrava, the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska. He attended elementary school in Dubrava and secondary school at the Archdiocesan Seminary in Split. Following a year of compulsory military service in 1986/87, he studied philosophy and theology at the Faculty of Theology in Split, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1993. On June 27, 1993, he was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska.
For three years, he served in the Parishes of Omiš and Otrić-Struge. In 1996, he continued his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Lateran University, earning a licentiate in canon and civil law in the year 2000. After returning to Split, from 2000 to 2002 he served as judicial vicar and judge at the Interdiocesan Tribunal of First Instance in Split, and was also a pastoral associate in the Parish of Strožanac-Podstrana. In 2001, he became the rector of the Central Theological Seminary in Split. Since 2002, he has been a member of the Council of Presbyters of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska and since 2004, a member of the Council of the Croatian Conference of Bishops for Seminaries and Religious Vocations.
In addition to the Croatian language, he speaks and writes Italian and also knows English.