Vinko Puljić was born in Prijećani, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on 8 September 1945 — the twelfth of thirteen children of poor but devout Croatian parents; his mother Kaja died when he was three. He was ordained a priest in Đakovo Cathedral on 29 June 1970, served as chaplain in Banja Luka, and from 1978 to 1987 was spiritual director of the Zadar minor seminary before returning as parish priest of Bosanska Gradiška.
On 19 November 1990 John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Vrhbosna — Sarajevo; the Pope himself consecrated him on the feast of the Epiphany 1991. Within months Bosnia was at war. Through the siege of Sarajevo he stayed at his post, issuing heartbreaking appeals for peace, risking his life on pastoral visits and interfaith dialogue, and aiding refugees; he was once detained twelve hours by Serbian soldiers. The Pope wrote to him that when he imposed his hands in 1991 he had “no idea that very shortly your cross would be so heavy and your cup so bitter.” John Paul II created him a cardinal on 26 November 1994 — at 49 the youngest in the College and the first Bosnian cardinal ever. He retired in 2022.
Major Works & Initiatives
Archbishop of Sarajevo
Thirty-two years, including the entire Bosnian war, at the helm of the besieged see.
The siege appeals
His wartime appeals for peace and refugee work made him Bosnia's moral voice.
The Medjugorje commission
Served on the Vatican's international commission examining the alleged apparitions.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.