Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer

The Diocese of Speyer (lat. Dioecesis Spirensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's see is in the Palatinate city of Speyer.

Diocese of Speyer

Dioecesis Spirensis
Location
Country Germany
Ecclesiastical provinceBamberg
Statistics
Area6,025 km2 (2,326 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2010)
1,307,678
616,485 (44.5%)
Parishes346
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established4th Century
CathedralSpeyer Cathedral
Patron saintMary, Mother of God
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopKarl-Heinz Wiesemann
Bishop of Speyer
Metropolitan ArchbishopLudwig Schick
Archbishop of Bamberg
Auxiliary BishopsOtto Georgens
Map
Website
bistum-speyer.de

The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.

As of 31 December 2006, 44.5% of the population of the diocese was Catholic.

History

In a slightly different hierarchic structure it is one of the oldest Dioceses in Germany. A bishop of Speyer was first mentioned in a document in 346. Through grants by the Holy Roman Emperor, the prince-bishops of Speyer established themselves as worldly as well as spiritual rulers. The Diocese of Speyer in its current form was established within the borders of the former Rheinkreis, a district of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1817 after the secularization and division of the former bishopric in 1803.

For these historical reasons, Speyer belongs to the Province of Bamberg in Bavaria now, even though its territory has no direct border to Bamberg or any other Bamberg suffragan, and is a member of the Episcopal Conference of Bavaria as well as (like all Bavarian bishops) that of Germany.

Bishops

The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann. See also Bishop of Speyer for lists of bishops of the diocese and auxiliary bishops.

Administration

The diocese is directed by bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.

The diocese is structured in the following deaneries, with borders that are almost the same as the local county borders:

Deanery City / County Dean
Bad Dürkheim Stadt Neustadt, Landkreis Bad Dürkheim Priest Michael Janson, Neustadt
Donnersberg Donnersbergkreis Priest Markus Horbach, Rockenhausen
Germersheim Landkreis Germersheim Priest Jörg Rubeck, Germersheim
Kaiserslautern Stadt Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern (district) Priest Steffen Kühn, Kaiserslautern
Kusel Kusel (district) Priest Rudolf Schlenkrich, Kusel
Landau Stadt Landau, Landkreis Südliche Weinstraße Priest Axel Brecht, Landau
Ludwigshafen Stadt Ludwigshafen, Stadt Frankenthal, Northern part of Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis Priest Alban Meißner, Ludwigshafen
Pirmasens Stadt Pirmasens, Stadt Zweibrücken, Landkreis Südwestpfalz Priest Johannes Pioth, Pirmasens
Saarpfalz Saarpfalz district Priest Eric Klein, Blieskastel-Lautzkirchen
Speyer Stadt Speyer, Southern part of Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis Priest Frank Aschenberger, Waldsee
Speyer Cathedral

References


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