Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade

For other uses, see Archdiocese of Belgrade.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade (Latin: Archidioecesis Belogradensis; Serbo-Croatian: Beogradska nadbiskupija; Slovene: Beograjska nadškofija; Hungarian: Belgrádi főegyházmegye) is an archdiocese located in the city of Belgrade in Serbia.^[1]

Archdiocese of Belgrade Archidioecesis Belogradensis Beogradska nadbiskupija Beograjska nadškofija Belgrádi főegyházmegye
Location
Country	Serbia
Statistics
Area	88,499 km2 (34,170 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2022) 6,647,003 257,269 (3.9%)
Information
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	9th century
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Co-cathedral	Co-cathedral of Christ the King
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Metropolitan Archbishop	Cardinal Ladislav Nemet SVD
Bishops emeritus	Stanislav Hočevar
Map
Map of the Archdiocese
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

History

In the 13th century, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syrmia was established, for Catholics in the most southern regions of the Kingdom of Hungary, including Belgrade. By the 15th century, attempts were made to establish a Roman Catholic diocese for the regions of Belgrade and Smederevo, but in 1521 the city (Belgrade) fell under Ottoman rule. In 1717, the Habsburg Monarchy captured Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire, and soon the Treaty of Passarowitz was concluded (1718), officially assigning Belgrade with much of central Serbia to the Habsburgs. State authorities implemented complex religious policies towards various Christian communities, by recognizing the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Belgrade, and also establishing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belgrade. After the loss of Belgrade to the Ottomans in 1739, many Catholics left the region, and the Diocese was returned to the state of provisional administration, that would continue up to the beginning of the 20th century.^[2][3]

In order to regulate the status of the local Catholic Church, the government of the Kingdom of Serbia concluded an official Concordat with the Holy See on 24 June 1914. By the Second Article of the Concordat, it was decided that a regular Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade should be created.^[4] Because of the breakout of the First World War, those provisions could not be implemented, and only after 1918 were new arrangements made:

• October 29, 1924: Promoted as Archdiocese of Belgrade
• December 16, 1986: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Belgrade

Co-cathedral of Christ the King, Belgrade

Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Belgrade

Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Belgrade – the entrance

United titles

• Smederevo (Since December 23, 1729)^[5]

Leadership

Bishops of Beograd

• Bishop Jozef Ignác de Vilt (22 December 1800 – 26 August 1806)
• Bishop Stefan Cech (26 September 1814 – 8 January 1821)
• Bishop Venceslao Soic (23 December 1858 – 8 January 1869)
• Bishop Giovanni Paolesic (4 July 1871 – 1893)

Archbishops of Beograd

• Archbishop Ivan Rafael Rodić, OFM (29 October 1924 – 28 November 1936)
• Archbishop Josip Antun Ujčić (28 November 1936 – 24 March 1964)
• Archbishop Gabrijel Bukatko (24 March 1964 – 4 March 1980)
• Archbishop Alojz Turk (4 March 1980 – 16 December 1986)
• Archbishop Franc Perko (16 December 1986 – 31 March 2001)
• Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar, SDB (31 March 2001 – 5 November 2022)
• Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, SVD (5 November 2022 – present)

Suffragan dioceses

• Diocese of Subotica
• Diocese of Zrenjanin

Titular dioceses on the territory of Archdiocese

• Naissus (see), titular see.^[6]

See also

• Catholicism in Serbia
• List of Catholic dioceses in Serbia