Markus Büchel (; born 9 August 1949 in

Rüthi Rüthi is a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rüthi is first mentioned in 820 as ''Reuti''. Until 1994 it was known as ''Rüthi (Rheintal)''. Geography Rüthi has an area, , of . Of this area, 47.9% is used f ...

) is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Saint Gallen from 2006 to 2025.

Life

Büchel studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and Roman Catholic

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

. He was ordained priest in St. Gallen. On 17 September 2006 Büchel was ordained bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Gallen. In March 2025, Büchel voiced his support for the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

in order to combate the shortage of priests in the diocese.

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

accepted his resignation on 22 May 2025.

References

External links

Bistum Sankt Gallen: Markus Büchel (german)
*

at website by Bistum St. Gallen
Sankt Galler Tagblatt.ch: Etlernwerdung befasst sich mit Kindern (german)

Sankt Galler Tagblatt.ch: Irregeleitete Rücksicht auf den Ruf der Kirche (german)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchel, Markus 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Switzerland 1949 births Living people University of Fribourg alumni People from the canton of Uri