Archbishop of Zadar
Milan Zgrablić was born in Pazin on August 29, 1960, the fifth child of Josip and Josipa Zgrablić. He completed primary school in Pazin (1976) and attended the first two years of secondary school at the Episcopal Seminary in Pazin. His bishop, Msgr. Dragutin Nežić, sent him to the "Zmajević" Seminary in Zadar, where he completed the third and fourth years and passed his final exams in 1980. From 1980 to 1986, he studied theology at the Higher School of Theology in Rijeka. Following his priestly ordination on June 8, 1986, he served as a parish vicar in Rovinj (1986–1987). He was subsequently appointed prefect at the "Zmajević" Archbishop's Seminary in Zadar, a position he held for three years (1987–1990). Upon returning to the Diocese of Poreč and Pula, he served for two years as the diocesan delegate for vocations before pursuing postgraduate studies in spirituality at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1992–1994). After completing his studies in Rome, he was appointed head of the Pazin College and Classical Gymnasium (1994–1997), during which time he also assumed the role of director of the diocesan Caritas, serving until 2007. He served as parish priest in Rovinj for eight years (1997–2015). Since 2008, he has also managed the Diocesan Institution for the Support of the Clergy and Other Church Officials. In September 2015, he was appointed parish priest of the cathedral in Poreč, where he was serving when he was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Zadar. Since 2019, he has been a canon of the Cathedral Chapter of St. ...Mavro in Poreč. During his 36 years of priestly ministry, he served on several occasions as a member of the Presbyteral Council, the College of Consultors, and the Pastoral and Economic Councils; he was a member of the Council for Art, Construction, and Renovation of Sacred Buildings, and headed the Council for Liturgy and Church Music, as well as the Council for Youth, Vocations, and Altar Servers. Pope Francis appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Zadar on April 7, 2022. He was ordained a bishop in the Cathedral of St. Anastasia in Zadar on June 25, 2022. He assumed the office of Archbishop of Zadar on January 14, 2023.