The Diocese of Eichstätt () is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

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 ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Its seat is

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...

, and it is subordinate to the archbishop of Bamberg. The diocese was created in 745; it was a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(the Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt) starting in a

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

until 1803. The current bishop of Eichstätt is Dr. Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB; formerly the Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Plankstetten, he was named to the See by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 14 October 2006, and he was consecrated at the Cathedral of Eichstätt on 2 December 2006. The diocese covers an area of 6,025 km², with 48.9% (as per 31 December 2006) of the population being Roman Catholic.

List of bishops

* List of bishops of Eichstätt

History

The diocese was erected by Saint

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

in 745; it was subordinate to the

archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

. By the Bavarian Concordat of 1817, the diocese was reorganized and made subordinate to the archbishop of Bamberg.

Ordinaries

*Johann von Eych (1 October 1445 Appointed – 1 January 1464 Died) *Wilhelm von Reichenau (16 January 1464 Appointed – 9 November 1496 Died) *Gabriel von Eyb (5 December 1496 Appointed – 1 December 1535 Died) *Christoph Marschalk zu Pappenheim (14 December 1535 Appointed – 13 June 1539 Died) *Moritz von Hutten (26 June 1539 Appointed – 6 December 1552 Died) *Eberhard von Hirnheim (22 December 1552 Appointed – 4 July 1560 Died) *Martin von Schaumberg (14 July 1560 Appointed – 28 June 1590 Died) *Kaspar von Seckendorff (13 August 1590 Appointed – 2 April 1595 Died) * Johann Konrad von Gemmingen (2 April 1595 Succeeded – 8 November 1612 Died) * Johann Christoph von Westerstetten (4 December 1612 Appointed – 28 July 1637 Died) *Marquard Reichsgraf von Schenk von Castell (28 July 1637 Appointed – 18 January 1685 Died) *Johann Euchar Reichsgraf von Schenk von Castell (13 March 1685 Appointed – 6 March 1697 Died) *Johann Martin Reichsritter von Eyb (16 April 1697 Appointed – 6 December 1704 Died) *Johann Anton Reichsfreiherr von Knebel von Katzenellenbogen (9 February 1705 Appointed – 27 April 1725 Died) *Franz Ludwig Reichsfreiherr von Schenk von Castell (3 July 1725 Appointed – 19 September 1736 Died) *Johann Anton Reichsfreiherr von Freyberg-Hopferau (5 December 1736 Appointed – 30 April 1757 Died) *Raymund Anton Graf von Strasoldo (5 July 1757 Appointed – 13 January 1781 Died) *Johann Anton Freiherr von Zehmen (27 March 1781 Appointed – 23 June 1790 Died) *Joseph Graf von Stubenberg (21 September 1790 Appointed – 5 February 1818 Appointed, Archbishop of Bamberg) *Petrus Pustet (4 Mar 1824 Appointed – 24 Apr 1825 Died) *Johann Friedrich Oesterreicher (12 May 1825 Appointed – 31 January 1835 Died) *Johann Martin Manl (25 March 1835 Appointed – 15 October 1835 Died) * Karl August Graf von Reisach (19 April 1836 Appointed – 12 July 1841 Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of München und Freising) *Georg von Oettl (3 October 1846 Appointed – 6 February 1866 Died) *Franz Leopold Freiherr von Leonrod (13 November 1866 Appointed – 5 September 1905 Died) *Johannes Leo von Mergel, O.S.B. (5 October 1905 Appointed – 20 June 1932 Died) * Konrad von Preysing (9 September 1932 Appointed – 5 July 1935 Appointed, Bishop of Berlin) * Michael Rackl (4 November 1935 Appointed – 5 May 1948 Died) * Joseph Schröffer (23 July 1948 Appointed – 2 January 1968 Appointed, Titular Archbishop of Volturnum) *Alois Brems (28 May 1968 Appointed – 1 June 1983 Retired) *Karl Heinrich Braun (17 April 1984 Appointed – 25 March 1995 Appointed, Archbishop of Bamberg) *Walter Mixa (24 February 1996 Appointed – 16 July 2005 Appointed, Bishop of Augsburg) *Gregor Maria Franz Hanke, O.S.B. (14 October 2006 Appointed – )

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese of Eichstätt 745 establishments Dioceses established in the 8th century Christianity in Bavaria Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany Roman Catholic dioceses in the Holy Roman Empire 8th-century establishments in Germany Eichstätt