The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metropolitan

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In t ...

and demoted back in 1802 to bishopric. The diocese is

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

of the

metropolitan 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 typ ...

Archdiocese of Freiburg."Diocese of Mainz"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Diocese of Mainz"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 Its district is located in the states of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

and

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

. The seat of the diocese is in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

at the Cathedral dedicated to Saints

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

History

* Established in 340 as Diocese of Mainz * Gained territory in 755 from the suppressed

Diocese of Erfurt The Diocese of Erfurt is a diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. The diocese was created in 1973 as the apostolic administration of Erfurt-Meiningen, and was elevated in 1994 to the current diocese of Erfurt. The diocese is a suffragan of ...

* Promoted in 780 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mainz * Demoted (back) on the 29th of November, 1801 to Diocese of Mainz (gained territory from Diocese of Metz, Diocese of Speyer, Metropolitan Archdiocese of Trier and Diocese of Worms) * Lost territories repeatedly; in April 1818 to

Diocese of Konstanz The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his d ...

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 bish ...

and

Diocese of Wurzburg 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 associate ...

; in July 1821 to

Diocese of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn (german: Fürstbistum Paderborn; Hochstift Paderborn) was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope ...

; in August 1821 to

Diocese of Fulda The Diocese of Fulda (Latin ''Dioecesis Fuldensis'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in the north of the German state of Hessen. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Paderborn. The bishop's seat is in Fulda Cathedral. History The histo ...

and to establish Diocese of Limburg, and exchanged territory with Diocese of Trier; in March 1824 to Diocese of Hildesheim.

Organization, extent and statistics

Under Article 14 of the

Reichskonkordat The ''Reichskonkordat'' ("Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich") is a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany. It was signed on 20 July 1933 by Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, who later be ...

of 1933, which remains in force, the determination of the bishop to head the episcopal see and the composition of the chapter are governed by the provisions of Baden Concordat of 1932. As per 2014, it pastorally served 749,583 Catholics (25.9% of 2,891,000 total) on 7,692 km² in 319 parishes, 504 priests (409 diocesan, 95 religious), 124 deacons, 447 lay religious (132 brothers, 315 sisters), 19 seminarians. It is divided into 20 deaneries, which in turn are divided into 136 pastoral care units. In 2007 these parish associations or parish groups included all 335 parishes and other chaplaincies of the diocese (as of 2007).Schematismus der Diözese Mainz 2007 Pastoral units on the parish level have been introduced as a result of a profound structural change in the Catholic Church in Germany in many dioceses, the constitution of these units was determined by particular law aw of a particular region or territory i.e., allowing for differences from one diocese to another. In the diocese of Mainz a parish group may be several parishes merged under the leadership of a single pastor. The parishes retain their church and state church legal personality. The pastor is attached to a pastoral team and a pastoral council. Parish associations, however, are combinations of several parishes, each with its own pastor. Several parish groups can join together to form a parochial associations.

Catholic Education

Catholic Private Schools

The most important educational institution of the Diocese is the

Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Mainz The Catholic University of Applied Sciences Mainz ( German ''Katholische Hochschule Mainz'') is a university located in Mainz, Germany. It was founded in 1972 and is operating on behalf of the Roman Catholic Dioceses Cologne, Limburg, Mainz, S ...

. Besides the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz and the (arch)dioceses of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Limburg,

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer lie ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

belong to the initiators of this university . There are also other schools as the Edith-Stein-Schule in Darmstadt, Liebfrauenschule in Bensheim, the Episcopal Willigis-Gymnasium in Mainz, Abendgymnasium Ketteler of Mainz and the Episcopal College Willigis secondary school in Mainz.

Facilities at state universities

The diocese maintains three facilities at state universities. The most important of them is the Catholic Theological Faculty at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stud ...

. In addition, there are at

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

, the Institute for Catholic theology and their didactics, which is located at the Department of History and Cultural Studies. At the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...

is an institute for theology and social ethics.

Bildungswerk der Diözese Mainz

The Bildungswerk der Diözese Mainz (educational works of the diocese of Mainz) promotes "... the church's adult education in the diocese from the parish to the diocesan level ..." The Bildungswerk is also a member of the Catholic

Adult Education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ral ...

Hesse - Regional Working Group.

Other educational institutions

* Institut für Kirchenmusik Mainz: training institution for catholic

Church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The ...

ians

Major churches

Cathedral and Major basilicas

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Worms Cathedral St Peter's Cathedral (German: ''Wormser Dom'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Worms, southern Germany. The cathedral is located on the highest point of the inner city of Worms and is the most important building of the Ro ...

* Basilica of St. Martin, Bingen am Rhein * Basilica of Sts. Marcellinus and Petrus, Seligenstadt * Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Sts. Peter and Paul, Ilbenstadt

Other well-known churches

* St. Stephen's Church, Mainz with Chagall windows * St. Ludwig, Darmstadt, dome of Neoclassicism * Collegiate church, Pfaffen-Schwabenheim * Church of Our Lady, Worms * Chapel of St. Roch, Bingen

Liturgical calendar

Reliquienschrein in der Ostkrypta des Mainzer Doms

Local feasts of the diocese are: * 5. January: John Neumann, Redemptorist priest and fourth Bishop of Philadelphia * 4. February:

Rabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of th ...

, Frankish Benedictine monk, archbishop of Mainz * 14. February: Valentine, 3rd-century Christian martyr * 23. February:

Willigis Willigis ( la, Willigisus; german: Willigis, Willegis; 940 – 23 February 1011 AD) was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire. Life Willigus was born in the Duchy of Saxony, possibly at ...

, Archbishop of Mainz and statesman of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

* 27. April: Peter Canisius, Jesuit priest who supported the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany * 15. May: Rupert of Bingen, patron saint of pilgrims * 2. June: Marcellinus and Peter, 4th-century Christian martyrs in Rome * 5. June: Boniface, leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the German parts of the Frankish Empire. * 10. June: Bardo of Mainz, presided over the Synod of Mainz in 1049 which denounced simony and priest marriage * 21. June:

Alban of Mainz Alban of Mainz (Latin: ''Albanus'' or ''Albinus''; supposedly died in or near Mainz) was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr in the Late Roman Empire. He is venerated as Saint Alban of Mainz in the Catholic Church, not to be confused with ...

, priest, missionary, and martyr. * 27. June: Creszenz, Aureus, Theonest saints venerated by the Church of Mainz * 4. July: anniversary of the consecration of Mainz cathedral * 16. August:

Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked ...

, Christian saint, confessor, specially invoked against the plague * 6. September: Anniversary of the consecration of churches who do not know the day of their consecration * 17. September:

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. * 28. September: Leoba, Anglo-Saxon nun who was part of Boniface's mission to the Germans * 16. October: Lullus, first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface * 26. October: Amandus of Straßburg, confessor, first bishop of Straßburg. * 29. October: Ferrutius, Roman soldier, martyr in Mogontiacum * 11. November:

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

, soldier, later Bishop of Tours * 27. November:

Bilihildis Bilihildis (also spelled Bilihilt, Bilhild, Bilehild; died 734) was a Frankish noblewoman, remembered as the founder and abbess of the monastery of Altmünster near Mainz, and venerated locally as a saint, on Nov. 27. Biography The biography of ...

, Frankish noblewoman, founder and abbess of the monastery of Altmünster near Mainz

List of Bishops

For bishops and archbishops before 1802, see Elector_of_Mainz#Bishops_and_archbishops. *

Joseph Ludwig Colmar Joseph Ludwig Colmar (born at Strasburg, 22 June 1760; died at Mainz, 15 December 1818) was a German Catholic Bishop of Mainz. Life After his ordination (20 December 1783) he was professor of history and Greek at the Royal Seminary, and curate ...

(1802–1818) * Joseph Vitus Burg (1829–1833) * Johann Jakob Humann (1833–1834) * Petrus Leopold Kaiser (1834–1848) *

Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherr von Ketteler Baron Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (25 December 181113 July 1877) was a German theologian and politician who served as Bishop of Mainz. His social teachings became influential during the papacy of Leo XIII and his encyclical ''Rerum novarum''. ...

(1850–1877) *''

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

(1877-1886)'' * Paul Leopold Haffner (1886–1899) *

Heinrich Brück Heinrich Brück (25 October 1831, Bingen – 4 November 1903) was a German Catholic church historian, and Bishop of Mainz. Life He followed for some time the cooper's trade. After a course of studies under of a distinguished ecclesiastic, Dr. Jo ...

(1900–1903) *

Georg Heinrich Kirstein Georg Heinrich Maria Kirstein (2 July 1858, Mainz – 15 April 1921, Mainz) was a German Roman Catholic clergyman. From 1904 until his death he served as Bishop of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well ...

(1903–1921) * Ludwig Maria Hugo (1921–1935) *

Albert Stohr Albert Stohr (13 November 1890 – 3 June 1961) was Bishop of Mainz from 17 July 1935 until his death. Stohr was born in Friedberg, Germany. He entered the seminary in Mainz in 1909 and was ordained as a priest on 19 October 1913 in Mainz Cathed ...

(1935–1961) * Hermann Cardinal Volk (1962–1982) *

Karl Cardinal Lehmann Karl Lehmann (16 May 1936 – 11 March 2018) was a German Cardinal prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mainz from 1983 to 2016, being elevated to Cardinal in 2001. He also served as Chairman of the Conference of the Ger ...

(1983–2016) * Peter Kohlgraf (2017– ...)

Auxiliary bishops

Archdiocese (to 1802)

Diocese (1802–present)

* Joseph Maria Reuß (Reuss) (1954–1978) * Wolfgang Rolly (1972–2003) * Franziskus Eisenbach (1988–2002) * Werner Guballa (2003–2012) *

Ulrich Neymeyr Ulrich Neymeyr (born 12 August 1957 in Worms-Herrnsheim) is a German Roman-Catholic bishop. Life In Mainz, Neymeyr studied Roman Catholic theology and philosophy at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. He became on June 12, 1982 priest. On 20 F ...

(2003–2014) * Udo Markus Bentz (2015– )

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic
* ; Literature * Stefan Burkhardt, ''Mit Stab und Schwert. Bilder, Träger und Funktionen erzbischöflicher Herrschaft zur Zeit Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossas. Die Erzbistümer Köln und Mainz im Vergleich.'' Thorbecke, Ostfildern, 2008 * Friedhelm Jürgensmeier: ''Das Bistum Mainz''. Von der Römerzeit bis zum II. Vatikanischen Konzil, Knecht Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1988, * Hans Werner Nopper, ''Die vorbonifatianischen Mainzer Bischöfe.'' Mülheim, 2001 * Franz Usinger, ''Das Bistum Mainz unter französischer Herrschaft (1798-1814)''. Falk, Mainz, 1911 {{Authority control

Organisations based in Mainz Mainz diocese Mainz diocese