Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Drazen Kutlesa, until now metropolitan archbishop of Split-Makarska, as coadjutor archbishop of Zagreb, the Archdiocese of Zagreb reported on Tuesday.

The news was announced exactly at noon after the Vatican stated that “the Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Drazen Kutlesa, until now metropolitan archbishop of Split-Makarska, as coadjutor archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia.”

At the same time, the pontiff appointed Zadar Archbishop emeritus Zelimir Puljic as the Apostolic Administrator of the Split-Makarska Archdiocese.

With Kutlesa’s appointment as coadjutor archbishop of the Zagreb archdiocese, the archdiocese of Split-Makarska remains without the archbishop, and Puljic as apostolic administrator “sede vacante” has all the rights, powers and duties of a diocesan bishop until a new archbishop of Split-Makarska assumes office.

Kutlesa, who was elected president of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference (HBK) last October for a five-year term, is supposed to succeed 73-year-old Cardinal Josip Bozanic once Bozanic turns 75.

Archbishop Kutlesa was born in Tomislavgrad (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1968. He was ordained a priest of the Mostar-Duvno Diocese on 29 June 1993.

On  13 July 2022, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Dicastery for Bishops.