Pope Leo XIV confirmed to Mons. Ivan Kovač as Undersecretary of Dicastery for Bishops for five years (for five years), An important position in the body that prepares the episcopal appointments of the Catholic Church worldwide.
Mons. Kovač was born on March 28, 1978 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was ordered priest on July 5, 2003 for the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, episcopal jurisdiction in which the Parish of Medjugorje is located. Before his service in Rome he performed functions in his diocese as a parish vicar, secretary of the Bishop and Judicial Vicar, combining pastoral and legal experience. He studied Canon Law at the Canon Law Faculty “San Pío X” in Venice (Italy) and at the Pontifical Latarenense University in Rome.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
His entry into the curia occurred in 2012, when he was appointed officer of the then congregation – today Dicasterio – for the bishops. In June 2023, Pope Francis appointed him Undersecretary of the Vatican Dicastery, who was already directed by Cardinal Robert Prevost, today Leo XIV.
After the choice of Pope León in May 2025, the structure of the Dicastery for the bishops waited for a new prefect, successor of Cardinal Prevost. For that position, the Holy Father appointed this September 26 to Archbishop Carmelita Filippo Iannone, recognized Italian canonist and expression of the Dicasteria for legislative texts. In that context, the Secretary, Mons. Ilson de Jesús Montanari, and Mons. Kovač as Undersecretary were confirmed.
Various media that have reacted to the appointments for the dicastery for the bishops – among them I can not remain silent– They interpreted them as an important sign of the Pontificate of Leo XIV, which would aim to reinforce legal rigor and transparency in the bishop’s selection process, marking distance from the most informal dynamics that characterized some appointments during the previous pontificate.
David Ramos
Graduate in Communication Sciences by the Private University of the North in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working in ACI Press, I am based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered the trips of Pope Francis to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.