The news of the appointment was announced in the Episcopal Ordinariate in Gospić by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Croatia, Msgr. Giorgio Lingua.

Msgr. Lingua said that it seems highly significant to him that the appointment is being announced on the day when the Church remembers the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary and when the Holy Father has called the whole world to fast and pray for peace in the world.

“Who could want to achieve peace more than the Vicar General of the Military Ordinariate?” he asked, adding that prayer is more important for peace than weapons. He pointed out that this applies to everyone, noting that in every diocese there are opportunities for conflicts.

“Please, never start a war! Always try to resolve inevitable conflicts with dialogue supported by prayer,” said the Apostolic Nuncio.

He thanked Msgr. Richard Pavlić, until now the Diocesan Apostolic Administrator, for leading the diocese during the period of sede vacante.

Then Msgr. Pavlić addressed those present. “After the former Bishop of Gospić-Senj, Msgr. Zdenko Križić, was appointed the Archbishop of Split-Makarska on September 8, 2023, and enthroned on October 28, 2023, the faithful of our diocese began to pray for the gift of a new shepherd who would ‘please God with his holiness and   benefit his people.’ Today we deem this prayer to be answered,” he said.

He emphasized that open and sincere hearts joyfully await our third bishop since the establishment of the Diocese of Gospić-Senj (2000). “Our task for Bishop Marko is to continue to pray that he, like his two predecessors, will be pleasing to God and beneficial to us,” he concluded.

In Zagreb, the news was announced by the Apostolic Nunciature in the Republic of Croatia and the Military Ordinary of the Republic of Croatia, Msgr. Jure Bogdan, at the headquarters of the Military Ordinariate.

Msgr. Bogdan also presented Msgr. Medo’s biography and told him that he was beginning a new period in his life. “You will serve as the apostolic successor of the shepherd of God’s people in the Diocese of Gospić-Senj and as a member of the apostolic corps of the Croatian Conference of Bishops,” he said and congratulated the bishop-elect on behalf of all the members of the Military Ordinariate.

“He who calls us to service and often places us before great tasks that frighten us gives us the strength to bear burdens and not retreat from ravenous wolves. Priestly service, episcopal service, is not private property but a gift from God to serve God’s people and all people of good will. On this path, they are accompanied and strengthened by the fervent prayers of the religious community,” said Msgr. Bogdan.

“Through all the years of my episcopal service, you have been a loyal and wise collaborator, a valuable worker in the Lord’s vineyard.  In your new office, I wish you as many collaborators as possible who are to you what you have been to me in this office. I congratulate you. May the Queen of the Holy Rosary safeguard you and be with you. Blessed are you who come to the Diocese of Gospić-Senj in the name of the Lord. God save you,” he concluded.

Then Msgr. Medo addressed those present, saying that he had received the Holy Father’s decision to appoint him as the Bishop of Gospić-Senj from the hands of Nuncio Lingua. “The news communicated to me by the Apostolic Nuncio greatly caught me by surprise. It still resonates deeply within me and perplexes me. Inwardly, I sift through so many moments I have lived and ask God many questions, seeking answers, and my heart is filled with anxiety owing to the office that has been entrusted to me,” he said.

He pointed out that God’s providence has always accompanied him throughout his life and recalled his previous offices. He thanked God the Father for the gift of life, his priestly vocation and for all those who in any way are part of his life and support him.

“In prayer and evangelical discernment, with my eyes fixed on the cross of Christ and the love given to us through it, I have agreed to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Gospić-Senj, the diocese with the largest territory in our Homeland, although among the smallest in terms of numbers. I have tried to live all my life so far in simplicity and humility, accepting everything from God’s hand. It is in this spirit that I want to continue my mission in the diocese entrusted to me, to walk together on the path of simplicity, humility, love and peace, and to build God’s Kingdom, already here on earth. I want to be like a father, brother and friend to every priest, religious and nun, as well as to every lay believer and everyone whom providence will put on my life’s path,” said Msgr. Medo.

He added that he comes to the Diocese of Gospić-Senj with a heart wide open, ready to advocate for the well-being and salvation of every soul. “The territory of our diocese merges all the natural beauties into one: the sea and rivers, plains and high mountains. Just as the world lives almost imperceptibly in the lowlands and by the sea, mountains often show their cruelty, hiding the coldness of stone and the fury of wolves. It is right here that I come to you as a shepherd, a shepherd who wants to care for his flock, look for lost sheep, feed and water them, watch over them and protect them from wolves. I come to you to be a shepherd whose door will wide open to each of you and provide you with support, help and security,” he emphasized.

He prayed for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a blessing for the entire nation, priests, all the consecrated persons of the Diocese of Gospić-Senj, all those who follow him on his path of life, and for the good of all God’s people and the Universal Catholic Church. “In humility of heart, I ask all of you to pray for me, an unworthy servant of God, so that with God’s help and blessing I shall be able to carry out the mission that he has placed before me,” Msgr. Medo concluded.

Msgr. Marko Medo was born on March 10, 1972, in Strupnić, the municipality of Livno, the Diocese of Banja Luka.

He attended elementary school in his birthplace of Strupnić. In 1987, he entered the minor seminary of the Glagolitic Third Order Franciscans in Zagreb. From 1987 to 1991, he attended the Archdiocesan Classical High School in Zagreb. He spent his novitiate, from 1991 to 1992, at the Franciscan  monastery in Zadar. From 1992 to 1997, he studied philosophy and theology at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb. In 2007, he earned a master’s degree in pastoral theology at the   Pastoral Institute Redemptor hominis of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. On June 27, 1998, he was ordained to the priesthood.

Offices and Duties:

• 1998—2002, Parish Vicar in  Belišće and Kloštar Podravski;
• 2002—2011, Provincial Secretary and educator of seminarians, promotor of religious vocations, member of the Administration of the Province of the Glagolitic Third Order Franciscans in Zagreb;
• 2011, appointed Military Chaplain at the Military Chaplaincy of the Ministry of Defense, Republic of Croatia, in Zagreb;
• 2013, first mission to Afghanistan, on two occasions in a period of six months, as Military Chaplain in Afghanistan with the Croatian contingent of the NATO mission;
• 2014—2015, in addition to serving as the Military Chaplain, he was also the Pastor of the Parish of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac and Guardian of the Monastery of Christ the King in Ogulin;
• November 2, 2015, incardinated into the Military Ordinariate in the Republic of Croatia;
• 2016—2018, in addition to serving as the Military Chaplain, he also held the position of Episcopal Vicar for the pastoral ministry of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia;
• March 27, 2018, appointed Vicar General of the Military Ordinariate in the Republic of Croatia, and held this office until he was appointed Bishop;
• 2021—2023, in addition to serving as the Vicar General of the Military Ordinariate in the Republic of Croatia, he held the office of Military Chaplain at the Croatian Military Academy in Zagreb.

He is a member of various councils and services in the Military Ordinariate. In the Croatian Conference of Bishops, he was a member of the Council for Pastoral Ministry to the Family.

In addition to Croatian, he speaks Italian, together with some English and German.

Papa Franjo imenovao mons. Marka Medu gospićko-senjskim biskupom