Roman Catholic Diocese of Augsburg

Last updated
Diocese of Augsburg

Dioecesis Augustanus Vindelicorum

Bistum Augsburg
Augsburg Dom Ostchor.jpg
Augsburg Cathedral
Wappen Bistum Augsburg.png
Location
CountryFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
Ecclesiastical province Munich and Freising
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Munich and Freising
Statistics
Area13,250 km2 (5,120 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2015)
2,316,270
1,325,316 (57.2%)
Parishes998
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established6th Century
Cathedral Augsburg Cathedral
Co-cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Dillingen
Patron saint St. Ulric of Augsburg
St. Simbert of Augsburg
St. Afra
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Bertram Meier
Metropolitan Archbishop Reinhard Marx
Auxiliary Bishops Anton Losinger
Florian Wörner
Vicar GeneralHarald Heinrich
Bishops emeritus
Map
Karte Bistum Augsburg.png
Website
bistum-augsburg.de
Map of the deaneries of the Bishopric of Augsburg Karte des Bistums Augsburg und seiner Dekanate.png
Map of the deaneries of the Bishopric of Augsburg

Diocese of Augsburg (Latin : Dioecesis Augustanus Vindelicorum) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Early history

The present city of Augsburg appears in Strabo as Damasia, a stronghold of the Licatii; in 14 BC, it became a Roman colony known as Augusta Vindelicorum, received the rights of a city from Hadrian and soon became of great importance as an arsenal and the point of junction of several important trade routes. [3]

Though the beginnings of Christianity within the limits of the present diocese are shrouded in obscurity, its teachings were probably brought there by soldiers or merchants. According to the acts of the martyrdom of St. Afra, who with her handmaids suffered at the stake for Christ, there existed in Augsburg early in the fourth century a Christian community under Bishop Narcissus. Dionysius, uncle of St. Afra, is mentioned as his Successor. [3]

Nothing authentic is known about the history of the Augsburg Church during the centuries immediately succeeding, but it survived the collapse of Roman power in Germany and the turbulence of the great migrations. It is true that two catalogues of the Bishops of Augsburg, dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, mention several bishops of this primitive period, but the first whose record has received indubitable historical corroboration is Wikterp (or Wicbpert), who was bishop about 739 or 768. He took part in several synods convened by Saint Boniface in Germany; in company with Magnus of Füssen, founded the monastery of Füssen; and with Saint Boniface, dedicated the monastery at Benediktbeuern. [3]

Under either Saint Wikterp or his successor, Tazzo (or Tozzo), about whom little is known, many monasteries were established, e.g. the abbeys of Wessobrunn, Ellwangen, Polling and Ottobeuren. At this time, also, the see, hitherto suffragan to the Patriarchate of Aquileia, was placed among the suffragan sees of the newly founded Archdiocese of Mainz (746). Saint Simpert (c. 810), hitherto abbot of Murbach, and a relative of Charlemagne, renovated many churches and monasteries laid waste in the wars of the Franks and Bavarians, and during the incursions of the Avari; he built the first cathedral of Augsburg in honour of the Virgin Mary; and obtained from the Emperor Charlemagne an exact definition of his diocesan limits. His jurisdiction extended at that time from the Iller eastward over the Lech, north of the Danube to the Alb, and south to the spurs of the Alps. Moreover, various estates and villages in the valley of the Danube, and in Tyrol, belonged to the diocese.

Prince-Bishopric

Restoration

After the Congress of Vienna, where the diocese was restored, Franz Karl von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (d. 1819) was appointed bishop and Joseph Maria von Fraunberg was soon called to the archdiocese of Bamberg. There, they devolved upon their successors the important task of rearranging the external conditions and reanimating religious life, which had suffered sorely. Ignatius Albert von Riegg (1824–36) was successful in his endeavors to raise the standard of popular education through the medium of numerous ordinances and frequent visitations. He assigned the administration and direction of studies in the Lyceum to the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Stephen in Augsburg, founded by King Ludwig I of Bavaria (1834).

Petrus von Richarz (1837–55) displayed energy and persistent zeal in promoting the interests of his diocese and the Catholic Church in general, and encouraged the giving of missions to the people, the establishment of many religious institutions for the care of the sick and for educational purposes, and carefully superintended the training of the clergy. The same spirit characterized the labours of the succeeding bishops: Michael von Deinlein (1856–58), who after a short episcopate was raised to the Archbishopric of Bamberg; Pankratius von Dinkel (1858–94), under whom both seminaries and the deaf and dumb asylum were established in Dillingen, and many monastic institutions were founded; Petrus von Hotzl (1895-1902) whose episcopate was marked by the attention paid to social and intellectual pursuits, and the number of missions given among the people as well as by the solemn celebration of the beatification of the pious nun Crescentia Hoss. He was succeeded by Maximilian von Lingg.

Bishops

Bertram Meier (2017) Domdekan Pralat Dr. Bertram Meier.jpg
Bertram Meier (2017)

To 1000

1000 to 1300

1300 to 1500

1500 to 1800

Since 1800

Bishop emeritus of Augsburg Konrad Zdarsa Geburtstag bischof konrad zdarsa 2009-11-06.jpg
Bishop emeritus of Augsburg Konrad Zdarsa

Auxiliary bishops

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulrich of Augsburg</span> 10th-century Catholic bishop and saint

Ulrich of Augsburg, sometimes spelled Uodalric or Odalrici, was Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg in Germany. He was the first saint to be canonized not by a local authority but by the Pope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archbishop of Cologne</span> Archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne

The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and was ex officio one of the Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire, the Elector of Cologne, from 1356 to 1801.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Eichstätt</span> Diocese of the Catholic Church

The Diocese of Eichstätt is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Bavaria. Its seat is Eichstätt, and it is subordinate to the archbishop of Bamberg. The diocese was erected in 745; from the Middle Ages until 1805, it was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The current bishop of Eichstätt is Dr. Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB; formerly the Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Plankstetten, he was named to the See by Pope Benedict XVI on 14 October 2006, and he was consecrated at the Cathedral of Eichstätt on 2 December 2006. The diocese covers an area of 6,025 km², with 48,9% just under half of the population is catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart</span> Catholic diocese in Germany

The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, Bundesland. It covers the same territory of the former Kingdom of Wurttemberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn</span> Catholic archdiocese in Germany

The Archdiocese of Paderborn is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany; its seat is Paderborn. It was a diocese from its foundation in 799 until 1802, and again from 1821 until 1930. In 1930, it was promoted to an archdiocese. From 1281 until 1802, the Bishopric of Paderborn was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince-Bishopric of Constance</span> Principality of the Holy Roman Empire

The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dual capacity as prince and as bishop, the prince-bishop also governed the Diocese of Konstanz, which existed from about 585 until its dissolution in 1821, and whose territory extended over an area much larger than the principality. It belonged to the ecclesiastical province of Mainz since 780/782.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey</span> Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Ulrich and Saint Afra in Augsburg, Bavaria

St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's Abbey, Augsburg is a former Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Ulrich and Saint Afra in the south of the old city in Augsburg, Bavaria.

Dominic Marquard, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort was the second Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg</span> Ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire

The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of King Henry II to further expand the spread of Christianity in the Franconian lands. The bishops obtained the status of Imperial immediacy about 1245 and ruled their estates as Prince-bishops until they were subsumed to the Electorate of Bavaria in the course of the German Mediatisation in 1802.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Czechia

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. It has its seat in Olomouc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire (c. 888–1803)

The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, and belonged to the Swabian Circle. It should not be confused with the larger diocese of Augsburg, over which the prince-bishop exercised only spiritual authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier</span> Latin Catholic territory in Germany

The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as Treves from French Trèves, is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. When it was the archbishopric and Electorate of Trier, it was one of the most important states of the Holy Roman Empire, both as an ecclesiastical principality and as a diocese of the church. Unlike the other Rhenish dioceses—including Mainz and Cologne–Trier was the former Roman provincial capital of Augusta Treverorum. Given its status, Trier has continuously been an episcopal see since Roman times and is one of the oldest dioceses in all of Germany. The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in the time of Charlemagne and was the metropolitan for the dioceses of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. After the victory of Napoleon Bonaparte of France, the archdiocese was lowered to a diocese and is now a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Saint Peter. The Cathedral Chapter retains the right to elect the bishop, rather than selection by papal appointment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg</span> German diocese established in 741

The Diocese of Würzburg is a Latin Church diocese of Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, and the bishop is seated at Würzburg Cathedral. Founded in 741, the diocese lost all temporal power after the Napoleonic wars.

Johann Eglof von Knöringen was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1573 to 1575.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich von Knöringen</span>

Heinrich von Knöringen was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1599 to 1646.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Karl Joseph Fürst von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst</span>

Franz Joseph Xaver Karl Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst was a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop and bishop of Augsburg, as well as vicar general of Neu-Württemberg, later Diocese of Rottenburg.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Adramyttium was established in the 13th century as a suffragan of Cyzicus, but was later made a suffragan of Ephesus. In 1222, an unnamed bishop was entrusted with a papal assignment.

Jodok Seitz, O. Praem. was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Auxiliary Bishop of Augsburg (1460–1471).

References

  1. "Diocese of Augsburg" Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  2. "Diocese of Augsburg" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  3. 1 2 3 Lins, Joseph. "Augsburg." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 22 August 2021 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. "Bishop Jean Heysterbach, O.P." Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 26, 2016
  5. "Bishop Wilhelm Mader, O. Praem." Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 26, 2016
  6. "Bishop Jodok Seitz, O. Praem." Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 26, 2016

48°22′22″N10°53′48″E / 48.37278°N 10.89667°E / 48.37278; 10.89667