Tomo Vukšić (born 9 January 1954) is a theologian and a prelate of the Catholic Church from Bosnia and Herzegovina who was named metropolitan archbishop of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vrhbosna in January 2022, after serving two years as archbishop coadjutor. He has also been the apostolic administrator of the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2020.


Tomo Vukšić
Metropolitan Archbishop of Vrhbosna
ArchdioceseVrhbosna
Appointed29 January 2022
PredecessorVinko Puljić
Other post(s)Apostolic Administrator of the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 2020)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination29 June 1980
by Petar Čule
Consecration2 April 2011
by Vinko Puljić
Personal details
Born (1954-01-09) 9 January 1954 (age 70)
NationalityCroat
DenominationCatholic
MottoMir vam svoj dajem (My peace I give you)
Coat of armsTomo Vukšić's coat of arms
Ordination history of
Tomo Vukšić
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained byMarko Jozinović
Date3 December 1979
PlaceSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Priestly ordination
Ordained byPetar Čule
Date29 June 1980
PlaceMostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorVinko Puljić
Co-consecratorsRatko Perić, Franjo Komarica
Date2 April 2011
PlaceSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Early life

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Vukšić was born in Studenci, Ljubuški in the region of Herzegovina. He attended elementary school in Studenci from 1961 to 1965, and then in Ljubuški from 1965 to 1969. After graduation, he enrolled at a classical gymnasium in Zagreb and studied there until 1973. He then went to the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo, where he studied until 1980. He briefly interrupted his academic education to serve in the Yugoslav People's Army in Subotica in 1977 and Zrenjanin in 1978. After graduation, Vukšić was ordained a priest on 29 June 1980.[1]

Priesthood

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Vukšić served as a chaplain at the Mostar cathedral and worked as a journalist for the diocesan magazine Crkva na kamenu from 1980 to 1982. He then studied in Rome, earning a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in 1984 and another in canon law from the Pontifical Urban University in 1986. Vukšić served as a diocesan secretary in Mostar until 1988, and then returned to Rome where he completed a doctorate in Oriental Christian theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in 1991, with a dissertation discussing the relations between the Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]

Vukšić served as a professor at the Theological Institute in Mostar and was its director from 1991 to 1994. In 1991 he was appointed a professor at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo, and from 1993 to 1998 he was vice-rector there. Vukšić also lectured at the Theological Institute in Dubrovnik. Vukšić also held several posts in the ecclesiastical courts in Mostar and Sarajevo and served as the court vicar for the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno from 1993 to 2009. In 2005, Vukšić was appointed a professor at the post-graduate studies at the Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb. In 2009, Vukšić was appointed a vicar general for the dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan.[1]

Episcopacy

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On 1 February 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the first bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2] He was consecrated a bishop on 2 April 2011[3] in Mostar by Cardinal Vinko Puljić.[citation needed]

On 22 January 2020, Vukšić was appointed archbishop coadjutor of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vrhbosna[4] and two days later he was named Apostolic Administrator of the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1] He succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Vrhbosna upon the resignation of his predecessor Cardinal Vinko Puljić on 29 January 2022.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Izv. prof. dr. sc. Tomo VUKŠIĆ". Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Sarajevo. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 01.02.2011" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Tko je Ljubušak koji je naslijedio kardinala Vinka Puljića?". Dnevnik.ba (in Croatian). 30 January 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 22.01.2020". Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Rinunce e nomine, 29.01.2022" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 29 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
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Catholic Church titles
New office Ordinary of the Military Ordinariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2011 – 2020
Vacant
New creation Archbishop Coadjutor of Vrhbosna
2020 – 2022
succeeded as archbishop
Preceded by Archbishop of Vrhbosna
2022 – present
Incumbent