Plenković, Čović, Krišto in Banja Luka attend the ordination of Željko Majić as bishop

(Patria) - The ordination of Željko Majić as bishop is taking place in Banja Luka Cathedral of St. Bonaventure.

The Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, as well as the President and delegation of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, Borjana Krišto, are attending the appointment. Among those present are the Mayor of Banja Luka, Draško Stanivuković, and numerous believers.

Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, congratulated Bishop Majić.

"I extend my sincerest congratulations to Monsignor Željko Majić on his ordination as Bishop of Banja Luka. I sincerely believe that with his skill and wisdom, he will instill new strength and strengthen faith and hope in the renewal of spiritual life and overcoming the hardships of the times we live in.

With best wishes for good health and all happiness, I express my respect and appreciation," Dodik stated on network X.

Msgr. Željko Majić was born in Drinovci on March 28, 1963. He attended high school at the Jesuit seminary in Dubrovnik (1977-1981). After military service in Serbia (1981-1982), he studied philosophy and theology at the Vrhbosna Higher Theological School in Sarajevo (1982-1988). He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno by Bishop Pavao Žanić in Mostar in 1988.

After his ordination, he held various church positions: administrator of the Priests' Home in Bijelo Polje (1988-1989), parish vicar of the Cathedral Parish of Mary, Mother of the Church in Mostar (1989-1993). In 1993, the bishop sent him to Rome, where at the Pontifical Lateran University, in 1995, he obtained a licentiate in Pastoral Theology ("Pastoral Problems in the Diocese of Trebinje under Ottoman Rule and the Pastoral Care of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith").

Upon his return to the Diocese, he was again appointed parish vicar in the cathedral in Mostar. He served as the bishop's personal secretary (1997-2000), parish priest of the Parish of the Most Holy Trinity Blagaj-Buna (2000-2006), vice-rector of the Pontifical Croatian Institute of St. Jerome in Rome (2006-2012). From 2012 to 2021, he was the vicar general in Mostar. And from 2019, he was also the director of Caritas of the Dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan. During his service as bishop's secretary, in his capacity as parish administrator, he was responsible for the parish of Grude (1999-2000), and during his service as vicar general, in the same capacity, for the parish of Crnač (2013-2022).

During his service in Rome and Mostar, he edited, together with others, several books of a spiritual, theological, and pastoral nature.

The Bishop Emeritus of Banja Luka and Apostolic Administrator, Msgr. Franjo Komarica, served as the resident bishop of Banja Luka from July 15, 1989.