Roko Duda was born in the Free State of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) and spent his childhood in the village of Kras on the island of Krk where he attended elementary school from 1929 to 1933.

During this period, Duda became a musician, playing together with the former organist of the Franciscan church in Zagreb, Fra Kamila Kolba.

Duda and Jure Kaštelan were founders and chief editors of the translation of the Bible into Croatian that was published by Stvarnost in 1968.

[citation needed] From 1964 to 1969 he was professor and head of the Department of the Scriptures of the New Testament at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Zagreb.

He won many other national and international awards, including Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Order of Danica Hrvatska, and the Charter of the City of Zagreb.