Franz Lackner (born 14 July 1956) is an Austrian prelate who has been Archbishop of Salzburg since 2013. In June 2020 he was elected the president of the

Austrian Bishops' Conference The Austrian Bishops' Conference (german: Österreichische Bischofskonferenz) is the official assembly of the Roman Catholic bishops of Austria. It is the supreme authority of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria, established as a formal body unde ...

Life

Franz Lackner was born in Feldbach in the district of

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

. He served as a UN soldier and was stationed in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. On 16 September 1984, he became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

of the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

. He was professed as a member of the order on 16 September 1985 while he took his solemn profession on 2 September 1989. On 23 June 1991 Lackner was ordained to the priesthood. After gaining his Masters in

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Lackner graduated from the

Pontifical University Antonianum The Antonianum, also known as the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony ( la, Pontificia Universitas Antonianum, it, Pontificia Università Antonianum), and as Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum, is a Franciscan pontifical university in Rome named ...

of the Franciscan order in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in philosophy with a dissertation on the subject of "Unity and Multiplicity in

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus ( ; ; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the four most important ...

". Subsequently, he was professor of

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

at the Antonianum. On 7 April 1999, he was elected Provincial of the Franciscan Province in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In the same year he also became professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Philosophical-Theological College Benedict XVI in Heiligenkreuz,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. On 23 October 2002, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Graz-Seckau and Titular Bishop of Balecium. On 8 December 2002, he was consecrated bishop by the Bishop of Graz-Seckau Egon Kapellari in Graz Cathedral. He choose as his motto ''Illum oportet crescere''. On 8 September 2003, he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Permanent Deacons, Youth and Vocations. In 2010 he became an honorary member of the K.Ö.St.V. Babenberg Graz and in 2012 an Honorary Member of the K.Ö.St.V. Nibelungia-Knittel. On 18 November 2013, Lackner was confirmed as Archbishop of Salzburg. He was installed on 12 January 2014, in Salzburg Cathedral.Franz Lackner ist neuer Salzburger Erzbischof
Vatican Radio, 18 November 2013.Seite der Homepage der Diözese Graz-Seckau
retrieved 18 November 2013. Lackner is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Salzburg. He also has the title of

Primas Germaniae Primas Germaniae is a historical title of honor for the most important Roman Catholic bishop (the Primate) in the German lands. Throughout the history of the Holy Roman Empire, it was claimed by the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, Magdeburg and Salzb ...

("First Bishop of Germany"). The Archbishop also has the title of '' Legatus Natus'' ("born legate") to the Pope, which, although not a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, gives the Archbishop the privilege of wearing red vesture (which is much deeper than a cardinal's scarlet), even in Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lackner, Franz 1956 births Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg Living people 20th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Austria People from Feldbach District