page_title: Croatia–Holy See relations
section_title: After independence
hierarchical_section_title: Croatia–Holy See relations / History / After independence
caption_attribution_description: English: Pope Benedict XVI in Zagreb Hrvatski: Papa Benedikt XVI. napušta zgradu Hrvatskog narodnog kazališta u Zagrebu
context_page_description: Croatia–Holy See relations refer to the bilateral relationship between Croatia and the Holy See. Diplomatic relations among two countries were established on February 8, 1992 following Croatia's independence from SFR Yugoslavia, although they date far back in history. Croatia has an embassy in Rome, and the Holy See has an apostolic nunciature in Zagreb.
  According to the 2011 census, 86.28% of Croatia's 4,5 million people declared themselves Roman Catholics.
  Pope Alexander III and Pope Pius VII were the first popes to visit Croatian territories, while Pope John Paul II was the first pope to visit the Republic of Croatia.
context_section_description: After Croatia declared independence from SFR Yugoslavia in June 1991 due to a series of political upheavals and conflicts within the Federation, the Holy See, namely Pope John Paul II, become one of the most keen advocates of Croatian recognition by the international community. Although the Holy See is cautious in recognizing new states, it announced on October 3, 1991, that its diplomacy was working actively on Croatian international recognition. On December 20, 1991, the Holy See announced its intentions to recognize Croatia as an independent state. On November 21, 1992, Angelo Sodano, Cardinal Secretary of State, gave to the ambassadors of the member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to the Holy See a Memorandum in which the Holy See urged their countries to recognize Croatia as soon as possible. The Holy See officially recognized Croatia as an independent state on January 13, 1992, thus becoming the fifth fully independent country to do so.
  Pope John Paul II become the first pope to visit the Republic of Croatia. This was on September 10, 1994, during the period of the Croatian War of Independence. On September 11, the Pope led the Eucharistic celebration in Zagreb in front of about a million people on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Zagreb. He also officially opened and blessed the building of the Apostolic Nunciature in Zagreb. John Paul visited Croatia two more times; from October 2 to 4, 1998, during which he canonized Cardinal Stepinac at the Eucharistic celebration in the Croatian National shrine of Marija Bistrica, in front of about 500 thousand people, and he later celebrated Mass on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the city of Split; from June 5 to 9, 2003, during which he visited Krk, Rijeka, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Osijek, and Đakovo. He left with words: "I greet you beloved Croatian people! Thank you young Croatians as well. May God bless you, Croatian land! God bless you! May God continue to bless and protect Croatia! It will always have a privileged place in my love and in my prayers!" Then Pope Benedict XVI visited Zagreb, Croatia, from June 4 to 5, 2011.
  Croatia and the Holy See signed four concordats. The first is about cooperation in the field of education and culture; ratified on January 24, 1997; the second is about spiritual guidance of Catholics who are members of the Croatian armed forces and police, ratified on January 24, 1997; the third is about legal matters, ratified on February 9, 1997; the fourth is about economic cooperation, ratified on December 4, 1998. These concordats have allowed the Catholic Church to provide religious education in state primary and secondary schools, establish Catholic schools, conduct pastoral care among Catholics in the armed forces and police, and to get financed from the state budget. As regards to financing, the Church has received the following amounts of money over the last decade: 2001, 461.3 million kunas; 2004-2007, 532 million kunas; 2008-2011, 475.5 million kunas; 2012–2013, 523.5 million kunas; plus around 200 million kunas each year for teachers of religious studies in schools, and around 60 million kunas for maintenance of churches which are considered to be a cultural heritage. These contracts, in particular the fourth one, triggered numerous critics.
caption: Pope Benedict XVI emerges from the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, 2011
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