Wiguleus Fröschl of Marzoll (4 April 1445, in Marzoll (today part of

Bad Reichenhall Bad Reichenhall ( Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Stau ...

) – 6 November 1517, in Passau) was a German nobleman. From 1500 until his death, he was Prince- archbishop of Passau.

Life

Fröschl descended from a wealthy patrician family from the Bavarian salt-mining town of Reichenhall. His father was the salt magnate Ludwig Frösch; (d. before 1481). He studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, then went to the papal court 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 ...

, where he was ordained as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1467. From 1478, he worked in Passau as a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. He travelled to Rome several times as a mediator in the "third Bishop of Passau" dispute. From 1480 to 1485, he resided 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 ...

, where he held the office of

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. From 1486 to 1490, he was vicar general of

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

. In those days, Upper and Lower Austria belonged to the

diocese of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Passau Cathedral St. Stephen's Cathedral (german: Dom St. Stephan) is a baroque church from 1688 in Passau, Germany, dedicated to Saint Stephen. It is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Passau and the main church of his diocese. Since 730, there have been many ...

from Christopher of Schachner, who had succeeded as Prince-bishop of Passau. After Christopher died, Fröschl was elected as the 56th Bishop of Passau on 14 January 1500. Passau was an economically prosperous city. However, the city suffered a serious setback from the devastating floods of 1501. In response, Fröschl introduced a number of legislative reforms, including a reduction of the tax burden on his citizens. In 1503, he called a s diocesan synod to improve the church discipline in his diocese, which had sunk deeply. His goal was to renew the clergy from within. With this attempt, he showed that he was quite open to solving the problems the Catholic church sufferend from on the eve of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. He died on 6 November 1517, and was buried in

Passau Cathedral St. Stephen's Cathedral (german: Dom St. Stephan) is a baroque church from 1688 in Passau, Germany, dedicated to Saint Stephen. It is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Passau and the main church of his diocese. Since 730, there have been many ...

References

* August Leidl: ''Die Bischöfe von Passau in Kurzbiographien'', 1978

External links

* 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria Roman Catholic bishops of Passau People from Bad Reichenhall Bavarian nobility 1445 births 1517 deaths 15th-century German people 16th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub