The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at ...

(german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bishop of Basel has not resided in the city of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

since 1528.

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

is the seat of the Bishop of

. Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss cantons of

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...

, Basel-Country, Basel-City,

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

, Jura,

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

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is par ...

, and Zug. Basler - Basler Münster Westfassade

Ordinaries

* Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee (1576–1608) * Wilhelm Rinck von Balderstein (1609–1628) * Johann Heinrich von Ostein (1629–1646) * Beat Albrecht von Ramstein (1646–1651) * Johann Franz Reichsritter von Schönau (1651–1656) * Johann Konrad von Roggenbach (1657–1693) * Wilhelm Jakob Rink von Baldenstein (1693–1705) * Johann Konrad Reichsfreiherr von Reinach-Hirzbach (1705–1737) * Jakob Sigismund von Reinach-Steinbrunn (1737–1743) *

Josef Wilhelm Rinck von Baldenstein Georg Josef Wilhelm Aloys Rinck von Baldenstein (1704–1762) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1744 to 1762. Biography Josef Wilhelm Rinck von Baldenstein was born in Saignelégier on 9 February 1704. He was ordained as a priest on 31 March 1 ...

(1744–1762) * Simon Nikolaus Euseb Reichsgraf von Montjoye-Hirsingen (1762–1775) * Friedrich Ludwig Franz Reichsfreiherr von Wangen zu Geroldseck (1775–1782) *

Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach (1726–1794) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1782 to 1794. Biography Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach was born in Zwingen on 14 December 1726, the son of Franz Josef Konrad von Roggenbach and his ...

(1782–1792) * Franz Xaver Freiherr von Neveu (1792–1828) * Josef Anton Salzmann (1828–1854) * Karl Arnold-Obrist (1854–1862) * Eugène Lachat C.Pp.S. (1863–1884) * Friedrich Xaver Odo Fiala (1885–1888) * Leonhard Haas (1888–1906) * Jakobus von Stammler (1906–1925) * Joseph Ambühl (1925–1936) * Franz von Streng (1936–1967) * Anton Hänggi (1967–1982) * Otto Wüst (1982–1993) * Hansjörg Vogel (1994–1995) * Kurt Koch (1995–2010) *

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 ...

(2010– ) For a list of bishops prior to 1583, see: List of Bishops of Basel

External links

Bistum Basel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basel, Diocese (Roman Catholic) History of Christianity in Switzerland Bishops of Basel Roman Catholic dioceses in Switzerland Upper Rhenish Circle Diocese (Roman Catholic)