The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of 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 Porrentruy, and thereafter at Schliengen. As an imperial ...

(). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

Basel-Landschaft Canton of Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; ; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditional ...

Basel-Stadt Canton of Basel-Stadt or Basel-City ( ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as the capital. It is traditionally considered a " half-canton", the other half being B ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, Jura,

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) 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 Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

, and

Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...

Ordinaries

The bishops of Basel have not resided in the city of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

since 1528.

is the seat of the Bishop. *

Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee (11 May 1542 – 18 April 1608) was a Bishop of Basel and a leader in the Counter-Reformation in the region around Basel, in Switzerland. Early history He was born at Rosenberg Castle, the son of William, Pr ...

(1576–1608) *

Wilhelm Rinck von Balderstein Wilhelm Rink von Baldenstein was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1608 to 1628. References Prince-bishops of Basel {{europe-RC-bishop-stub ...

(1609–1628) *

Johann Heinrich von Ostein Johann Heinrich von Ostein (1579–1646) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1628 to 1646. References Prince-bishops of Basel 1646 deaths 1579 births {{europe-RC-bishop-stub ...

(1629–1646) *

Beat Albrecht von Ramstein Beat Albrecht von Ramstein (1594–1651) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1646 to 1651. Biography Beat Albrecht von Ramstein was born in Waldighofen on 14 July 1594. On 29 November 1646 the cathedral chapter of the Basel Münster elected hi ...

(1646–1651) *

Johann Franz Reichsritter von Schönau Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(1651–1656) *

Johann Konrad von Roggenbach Johann Konrad von Roggenbach (1618–1693) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1656 to 1693. Biography Johann Konrad von Roggenbach was born in Rhein on 15 December 1618. He was ordained as a priest on 4 April 1654. On 22 December 1656 the cat ...

(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 (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 (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 Kurt Koch (born 15 March 1950) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since November 2010 and president of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity since 1 July 2010. He was the bishop of Basel from 1996 until ...

(1995–2010) * Felix Gmür (2010– )

External links

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