Bishop Mile Bogović (7 August 1939 – 19 December 2020) was a Croatian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate, and church historian, who served as a Titular Bishop of Tamata and Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Rijeka–Senj from 4 June 1999 until 25 May 2000 and the first Diocesan Bishop of the newly created Gospić-Senj from 25 May 2000 until his retirement on 4 April 2016.

Education

Bishop Bogović was born into a Croatian Roman Catholic family of father Mijo and mother Manda (née Piršić) near

Slunj Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica. Slunj has a popu ...

in the

Central Croatia In contemporary geography, the terms Central Croatia () and Mountainous Croatia () are used to describe most of the area sometimes historically known as Croatia or Croatia proper (), one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Cro ...

. After graduation at a primary school in

and a classical gymnasium in the diocesan seminary in

Pazin Pazin (, ) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves. Geography The town had a population of 8,638 in 2011, of which 4,386 li ...

, he was admitted to the Major Seminary here and consequently joined the Theological Faculty at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

, where he studied until 1964, and was ordained as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on July 5, 1964 for the Diocese of Rijeka–Opatija, after completing his philosophical and theological studies. After the two years of the pastoral work, Fr. Bogović continued his studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

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from 1966 until 1971 with a

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

of the

Church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

degree (thesis ''La questione della gerarchia ortodossa in Dalmazia nei secoli XVII e XVIII'').

Pastoral work

Fr. Bogović served as the parish priest in Krivi Put and at the same time the chaplain in

(1964–1966). After his return from studies in

, he performed the following duties: he was the personal assistant of Archbishop Viktor Burić, rector of the Theological Faculty at the

University of Rijeka The University of Rijeka () is in the city of Rijeka, Croatia, with faculties in cities throughout the regions of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Primorje, Istria and Lika. The University of Rijeka is composed of eleven faculties, one art academy ...

, parish priest in Praputnjak near Bakar,

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Archdiocese of Rijeka–Senj and professor of a

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

at the

Bishop

On 4 June 1999, he was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

as an

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archdiocese of Rijeka–Senj. On 29 June 1999 he was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop Anton Tamarut and other prelates of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in the St. Vid Cathedral in

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. One year later, on 25 May 2000, he became the first Diocesan Bishop of the newly created Gospić-Senj. He retired in 2016, after he reached age limit of 75 years old. Bogović died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia The COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The first case in the Republic of Croatia was reported in Zagreb on 25 February 2020, when a patient who had come from Italy was tested positive. On the ...

on 19 December 2020.

Bibliography

* ''Katolička Crkva i pravoslavlje u Dalmaciji za vrijeme mletačke vladavine'' (1982, 1993), Kršćanska sadašnjost * co-author Josip Burić, ''Biskupije Senjska i Modruška u XVIII. stoljeću'' (2002), Državni arhiv, 9789537034023 * co-author Hrvatin Gabrijel Jurišić, ''Hrvatski mučenici za vjeru i dom'' (2005), Verbum, 953-235-031-4 * "Župa Krivi Put" (in ''Živjeti na Krivom Putu. Etnološko-povijesna monografija o primorskim Bunjevcima, sv. I.''), FF Press, pg. 69-78, 978-953-175-266-4 * ''Žao mi je naroda: Biskupovih deset godina na medijskom poprištu'' (2010), Alfa, 978-953-297-261-0 * ''Modruška ili Krbavska biskupija: Povodom 550. obljetnice prijenosa biskupijskog središta iz Krbave u Modruš (1460.-2010.)'' (2010), Gospićko-senjska biskupija * co-editor ''Hrvatski mučenici i žrtve iz vremena komunističke vladavine'' (2013), Glas Koncila, 978-953-241-392-2 * ''Lika i njezina crkva u prošlosti i sadašnjosti'' (2014), Državni arhiv u Gospiću, 9789537034177 * ''Slunjski kraj i njegova Crkva u prošlosti i sadašnjosti'' (2015), Državni arhiv u Gospiću, 9789537034207 * ''Vinodol i njegova Crkva od Vinodolskoga zakona do naših dana'' (2015), Riječka nadbiskupija, 978-953-7034-17-7 * co-editor ''Crkva hrvatskih mučenika na Udbini: od ideje do ostvarenja'' (2016), Gospićko-senjska biskupija, 978-953-59172-0-5 * ''Srpsko pravoslavlje i svetosavlje u Hrvatskoj u prošlosti i sadašnjosti'' (2017), Alfa, 978-953-297-873-5 * ''Glagoljica - bitna odrednica hrvatskog identiteta: Čudesni rast od hrvatskih korijena do svjetskih razmjera'' (2019), Alfa, 978-953-364-059-4

References

* Kristijan Kuhar,
Mile Bogović (1939.–2020.)
, ''Slovo'' * Zdenko Križić,
In memoriam Mile Bogović (1939. - 2020.)
, ''Senjski zbornik'' * Franje Puškarić,
Autobiografske crtice Mile Bogovića
, ''MemorabiLika'' * Tomislav Galović,
Glagoljaš Mile Bogović: na spomen biskupu i hrvatskom povjesničaru (1939.-2020.)
, ''Pro tempore'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bogović, Mile 1939 births 2020 deaths People from Karlovac County Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Croatia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Croatia 20th-century Croatian historians 21st-century Croatian historians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II