 Catholic Church in Serbia | |
|---|---|
| Serbian:Католичка црква у Србији/Katolička crkva u Srbiji | |
| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin |
| Scripture | Bible |
| Theology | Catholic theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Governance | International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Region | Serbia |
| Language | Serbian,Latin |
| Members | 419,377 (2022) |
TheCatholic Church in Serbia (Serbian:Католичка црква у Србији,Katolička crkva u Srbiji) is part of the worldwideCatholic Church under the spiritual leadership of thepope inRome. There are 356,957 Catholics inSerbia according to the 2011 census, which is roughly 5% of the population.[1] Estimates in 2020 suggested that the figure had risen to 5.5-6%.[2][3]
Catholics are mostly concentrated in several municipalities in northernVojvodina and are mostly members areHungarians,Croats, and a small minority ofSerb Catholics
By the end of the 12th century, regions ofSyrmia andMačva (in modern Serbia) came under the direct rule of theKingdom of Hungary, and during the first half of the 13th century, theRoman Catholic Diocese of Syrmia was established for Catholics in those regions. In the same time, jurisdiction over Catholic communities inmedieval Serbia (a predominantlyEastern Orthodox country), was exercised by theRoman Catholic Diocese of Kotor and theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar, whose prelates took the title:Primate of Serbia (Latin:Primas Serviae). By the 15th century, some attempts were made to establish a Roman Catholic diocese for the regions ofBelgrade andSmederevo in theSerbian Despotate. Attempts of missionaryJohn of Capistrano to convert Serbian rulerĐurađ Branković (1427-1456) from Eastern Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism failed. All of those territories gradually fell underOttoman rule (1459-1521), and the care of local Catholics came under jurisdiction of theFranciscan Province of Bosnia.[4][5]
In 1717, theHabsburg Monarchy captured Belgrade from the Ottomans, and theTreaty of Passarowitz was concluded in 1718, officially assigning Belgrade withmuch of central Serbia to the Habsburgs. Since local Serbian population was Eastern Orthodox, Habsburg authorities pursued complex religious policies towards various Christian communities, by recognizing theSerbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Belgrade, and also establishing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belgrade. After theloss of Belgrade to the Ottomans in 1739, many of local 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.[6][7]
The first officialConcordat between the formerKingdom of Serbia and theHoly See was concluded on 24 June 1914. Through the Second Article of Concordat, it was decided that the regularArchdiocese of Belgrade should be created.[8] Because of the outbreak of theFirst World War, those provisions could not be implemented, and only after the war were new arrangements made.
In 1918, Serbia became part of the newly formedKingdom of Yugoslavia. By 1924, the Archdiocese of Belgrade was officially created and the first Archbishop appointed. Negotiations on a new Concordat between the Kingdom and the Holy See were led by the YugoslavMinister of Justice Ljudevit Auer and Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (who later becomePope Pius XII). The Concordat was signed in 1935, but was never officially ratified because of a political crisis in Yugoslavia (1936-1937).
The Latin rite hierarchy responsible for Serbia consists of the metropolitanArchdiocese of Belgrade and its suffragans, thediocese of Zrenjanin and thediocese of Subotica; and thediocese of Srijem, which is suffragan to the Croatia-basedarchdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek. Thediocese of Prizren-Pristina, which is immediately subject to theHoly See, covers the area ofKosovo, which the government of Serbia considers a Serbian province and most other countries recognize as an independent state. TheGreek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur serves the faithful of Byzantine rite.
| 1921 census[9] | 1991 census | 2002 census | 2011 census | 2022 Catholic Church diocese statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Catholics | 751,429 | 17.16 | 496,226 | 6.4 | 410,976 | 5.48 | 356,957 | 4.97 | 419,377 | 6.30 |
| Total population | 4,378,595 | 100 | 7,759,571 | 100 | 7,498,001 | 100 | 7,186,862 | 100 | 6,647,003 | 100 |
The International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius is the International CatholicEpiscopal Conference that includes Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia. Permanent members are the Catholic bishops and archbishops from the four countries. Two bishops are authorized (Apostolic Exarchate) for jurisdictional districts of the Byzantine rite. As of 2025, the Chairman of the Conference is CardinalLadislav Nemet, Archbishop of Belgrade. The conference is a member of theCouncil of European Bishops' Conferences.
Caritas Serbia is a Catholic social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation operating all over the country.
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