Bishop of Krk
Friar Ivica Petanjak was born on August 29, 1963, in Đakovo (Archdiocese of Đakovo-Osijek) into a Catholic family belonging to the Parish of St. Michael in Drenje. He attended secondary school in Osijek (1978–1982) and subsequently entered the Capuchin novitiate in Karlobag. He interrupted his formation to complete his military service; upon his return, he finished the novitiate and made his temporary vows on November 4, 1984. That same year, he began his theological studies at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb. He made his perpetual vows in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on October 4, 1988, and was ordained a priest on June 24, 1990, in Zagreb. Following his ordination, he served as assistant formator and prefect of seminarians in Varaždin (1990–1991), as well as parochial vicar and hospital chaplain in Split (1991–1995). He studied Church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University (1995–2002) and, in 2002, defended his doctoral thesis titled "Michelangelo Bosdari da Ragusa OFMCap., Predicatore, diplomatico, uomo di governo e guida spirituale (1653–1729)" (Mihael Božidarević of Dubrovnik, OFMCap: Preacher, diplomat, administrator, and spiritual guide). From 2002 to 2005, he served as the master of seminarians in Zagreb. He held the office of Provincial Minister of the Croatian Capuchin Province of St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić from 2005 to 2011. Subsequently, he served as the parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Rijeka and as formator of postulants (2011–2014), and from August 2014, as the guardian of the friary in Osijek and as a provincial definitor. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Krk on January 24, 2015, and he was ordained bishop in the Krk Cathedral on March 22, 2015.