The Catholic Church in Switzerland (german: Römisch-katholische Landeskirche, french: Église catholique en Suisse, it, Chiesa cattolica in Svizzera) is organised into six dioceses and two

territorial abbey A territorial abbey (or territorial abbacy) is a particular church of the Catholic Church comprising defined territory which is not part of a diocese but surrounds an abbey or monastery whose abbot or superior functions as ordinary for all Ca ...

s, comprising approximately 2.9 million Catholics, about 33.8% of the Swiss population. The six dioceses are: *

Diocese of Basel The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bis ...

whose

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...

is Bishop

Felix Gmür Felix Gmür (born 7 June 1966) is a Swiss Roman Catholic bishop. He is the bishop of Basel since his installation on 16 January 2011. He had previously served as secretary of the Swiss Bishops' Conference. Gmür was born in Lucerne in 1966. Fr ...

Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg The Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg ( la, Dioecesis Lausannensis, Genevensis et Friburgensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland, which is (as all sees in the Alpine country) exempt (i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not p ...

whose

is Bishop

Charles Morerod Charles Morerod, O.P. (born 28 October 1961), is a Swiss (people), Swiss Dominican Order, Dominican prelate. Since 2011, he has been Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg. Previously, he s ...

Diocese of Chur The Diocese of Chur is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. It extends over the Swiss Cantons of Graubünden (Grisons), Schwyz, Glarus, Zurich, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Uri. The modern Cathol ...

whose ordinary is Bishop

Joseph Maria Bonnemain Joseph Maria Bonnemain (born 26 July 1948) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the bishop of Chur since 2021. Life Joseph Bonnemain was born on 26 July 1948 in Barcelona, the son of a Swiss father and a Spanish mother. He spea ...

Diocese of Lugano The Diocese of Lugano (Latin: ''Dioecesis Luganensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Switzerland covering the canton of Ticino. The diocese immediately exempt to the Holy See. In 2004, there wer ...

whose ordinary is Bishop Valerio Lazzeri * Diocese of Saint Gallen whose ordinary is Bishop

Markus Büchel Markus Büchel (14 May 1959 – 9 July 2013) was a former head of government of Liechtenstein. Prime Minister of Liechtenstein Büchel was in office as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from May to December 1993. He won the elections in 1993 as a ...

Diocese of Sion The Diocese of Sion ( la, Dioecesis Sedunensis, french: Diocèse de Sion, german: Bistum Sitten) is a Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of ...

whose ordinary is Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey The two

s, which do not belong to any bishopric, are *

St. Maurice's Abbey The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a c ...

in the

Canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the Sw ...

, which is the longest continuously inhabited monastery in Europe, whose

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

is Joseph Roduit, *

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...

, in the

Canton of Schwyz The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on ...

In contrast to most Catholic dioceses, Swiss bishoprics are exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the jurisdiction of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, without any

Metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

. The bishops and the two territorial abbots are organised within the

Swiss Bishops Conference The Swiss Bishops' Conference (SBC; german: Schweizer Bischofskonferenz; french: Conférence des évêques suisses; it, Conferenza dei vescovi svizzeri; rm, Conferenza dals uvestgs svizzers) is the coordinating body of the Catholic dioceses in ...

. In the last thirty years, mainly during the conflict over the appointment of

Wolfgang Haas Wolfgang Haas (born 7 August 1948) is a Liechtenstein-born prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vaduz in Liechtenstein since 1998. He was Bishop of Chur in Switzerland from 1990 to 1997, after tw ...

as Bishop of Chur, there have been discussions to make a major reform of the structure of the Catholic Church in Switzerland, which would probably also lead to the establishment of a metropolitan see (probably in

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

). However, discussions remain unresolved especially about the status of the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

as part of the Diocese of Chur, the large but splinted extend of the Diocese of Basel and the lack of a Metropolitan see stay unresolved. The status of Catholicism in Switzerland is complicated further by the existence of Landeskirchen (Catholic cantonal churches), imposed by anti-clerical cantonal governments in the 19th century and organised along democratic lines and control the application of funds collected through church taxes. Most cantonally delineated Catholic church bodies are members in their umbrella

Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

(RKZ, official names in german: link=no, Römisch-Katholische Zentralkonferenz der Schweiz, french: link=no, Conférence centrale catholique romaine de Suisse, it, link=no, Conferenza centrale cattolica romana della Svizzera, rm, link=no, Conferenza centrala catolica romana da la Svizra). Currently, there is one living Cardinal from Switzerland,

Kurt Koch , alt = , caption = Koch pictured in December 2016. , church = Roman Catholic Church , archdiocese = , province = , metropolis = , diocese = , see = , appointed = 1 July 2010 , ended = , predecessor = Walter Kasper , successor = , ...

;

Gilberto Agustoni Gilberto Agustoni (26 July 1922 – 13 January 2017) was a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the Roman Curia from 1950 to 1998, ending his career as head of the Apostolic Signatura from 1992 to 1998. He became a Cardinal in 199 ...

died in 2017 and

Henri Schwery Henri Schwery (14 June 1932 – 7 January 2021) was a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who was Bishop of Sion from 1977 to 1995. He was raised to the rank of cardinal in 1991. Early life and ordination Born in St-Léonard, Valais, Schwery ...

in 2021. Kurt Cardinal Koch participated in the

2013 Papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. On ...

Catholic lay organizations in Switzerland

Jungwacht Blauring Jungwacht Blauring (short: Jubla) is a Swiss children and youth organization. Jubla is one of the biggest children and youth organizations in Switzerland. Jubla is a member of the Catholic umbrella of youth organizations Fimcap. History The first ...

(JuBla)

Demographics

76% of Swiss Catholics support

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and 23% oppose it.How Catholics around the world see same-sex marriage, homosexuality
''

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church in Switzerland

Catholic lay organizations in Switzerland

Demographics

See also

References