Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Serbia. It is subject to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade. The Diocese is centered in the city of Subotica. János Pénzes currently serves as bishop.

Territory

The Diocese of Subotica encompasses the Serbian part of the Bačka region, which is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
The diocese's cathedral is the Cathedral of Saint Teresa of Avila in Subotica, dating back to 1779.
The diocese is multi-ethnic and has members primarily from the sizable Hungarian, Croat and Bunjevci communities, among others.

History

Until the end of First World War, the territory of the present-day Diocese of Subotica belonged to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kalocsa. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, region of Southern Bačka was incorporated into newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1923, an Apostolic Administration of Yugoslav Bačka was created. Before the end of Second World War, there was a sizable number of Roman Catholic Germans in the region of Bačka. In 1968, apostolic administration was reorganized into "Diocese of Subotica". In 1986, it was and placed under metropolitan jurisdiction of Roman Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade.
From the middle 1980s, and especially during the 1990s, number of Catholics in the territory of this diocese decreased due to various reasons, including low birth rates among local Roman Catholics, economic emigration, and ethnic tensions of the Yugoslav wars.

Administrators and bishops

The diocese runs the only Catholic high school in the country, the Paulinum gymnasium.

Press

is the oldest Roman Catholic monthly magazine of the diocese in Hungarian language, founded by László Huzsvár, the later bishop of Zrenjanin.
Hírviviő is the weekly Roman Catholic magazine of the diocese in Hungarian language.
Zvonik is a Roman Catholic magazine founded by Croat priests from Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica. It's being published in Croatian language.

Notable individuals

solicited for help in this Diocese and founded children's homes and monasteries of her Order, Order of Daughters of Mercy.