Nikola Eterović

Nikola Eterović (born 20 January 1951) is a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church who is a titular archbishop and was the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (2013–2026).

Biography Nikola Eterović was born on 20 January 1951 in Pučišća. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Hvar on 26 June 1977 by Bishop Celestin Bezmalinović. On 25 March 1980 he joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He fulfilled early assignments in the Apostolic Nunciatures in the Côte d'Ivoire, Spain, and Nicaragua and in the offices of the Secretariat of State. He was consecrated a bishop on 10 July 1999 by Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, assisted by Ante Jurić, Archbishop of Split, and Slobodan Štambuk, Bishop of Hvar.

On 11 February 2004, he was named general secretary of the Synod of Bishops.

Eterović was named a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on 9 May 2009 and of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization on 20 December 2010.

On 27 November 2009, anticipating the creation of the Diocese of Sisak on 5 December, Eterović was made titular archbishop of Cibalae by Pope Benedict XVI.

On 21 September 2013, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Germany. He presented his credentials to Federal President Joachim Gauck on 20 November 2013.

On 9 April 2026, Pope Leo XIV accepted his resignation as apostolic nuncio to Germany. German Catholic Radio remarked that he had been unsuccessful as a mediator between the Holy See and the German Church's Synodal Way because of "cultural and linguistic barriers".