The Old Catholic Church in Croatia was created as a result of an unsuccessful attempt to democratize and reform the
Catholic Church in Croatia by the Catholic lower clergy in the 1920s. The Old Catholic Church of Croatia was created after
First World War and was recognized by state authorities of
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) in 1923. Its first bishop was Marko
Kalogjera (1924–1956). During
Second World War, the Old Catholic Church of Croatia was banned by the
Ustaše regime. Among executed Old-Catholic clerics were: Ante Donković, Davorin Ivanović, Josip Ivelić, Ivan Cigula and Luka Malinarić. The church also suffered from several internal divisions (since 1933), and for a long time it was split in two groups that were finally united in 1974. In spite of that, the church never recovered fully, and it was placed by the
Union of Utrecht under a delegated administration of Bishop
Nikolaus Hummel of the
Old Catholic Church of Austria (1975–1994), and his successors. Since 18 November 2018, the administrating Bishop is
Heinz Lederleitner, current bishop of the Old Catholic Church of Austria. Today's president of the
Synodal Council of the Old Catholic Church of Croatia is Dr. Damir Boras, grandson of the founder of the church. ==Croatian Old-Catholic bishops==