The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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, pro ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Historically, the

bishops of Basel The beginning of the succession of bishops of Basel is shrouded in legend. The first, St. Pantalus, eludes historical documentation. He is supposed to have been martyred at Cologne with Saint Ursula, who is herself difficult to locate histori ...

were also secular rulers of the

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum 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 Po ...

(german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bishop of Basel has not resided in the city of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

since 1528.

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

is the seat of the Bishop of

. Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss cantons of

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

Basel-Country Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

Basel-City Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as t ...

Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Jura,

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

, and

Zug , neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri , twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina) Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...

Ordinaries

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. Early history He was born at Rosenberg Castle, the son of William, Prince-abbot of St ...

(1576–1608) *

Wilhelm Rinck von Balderstein Wilhelm Rink von Baldenstein was the Prince-Bishop of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bi ...

(1609–1628) *

Johann Heinrich von Ostein Johann Heinrich von Ostein (1579–1646) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by ...

(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 him ...

(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 cath ...

(1657–1693) *

Wilhelm Jakob Rink von Baldenstein Wilhelm Jakob Rink von Baldenstein (1624–1705) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1693 to 1705. Biography Wilhelm Jakob Rink von Baldenstein was born in Birseck Castle on 10 January 1624. On 3 August 1688 the cathedral chapter of Basel Müns ...

(1693–1705) * Johann Konrad Reichsfreiherr von Reinach-Hirzbach (1705–1737) *

Jakob Sigismund von Reinach-Steinbrunn Jakob Sigismund von Reinach-Steinbrunn (1683–1743) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1737 to 1743. Biography Jakob Sigismund von Reinach- Steinbrunn was born in Obersteinbrunn, the son of Johann Jakob Kaspar Sigmund ''Freiherr'' von Reinach-S ...

(1737–1743) *

Josef Wilhelm Rinck von Baldenstein Georg Josef Wilhelm Aloys Rinck von Baldenstein (1704–1762) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1744 to 1762. Biography Josef Wilhelm Rinck von Baldenstein was born in Saignelégier on 9 February 1704. He was ordained as a priest on 31 March 1 ...

(1744–1762) *

Simon Nikolaus Euseb Reichsgraf von Montjoye-Hirsingen Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

(1762–1775) *

Friedrich Ludwig Franz Reichsfreiherr von Wangen zu Geroldseck Friedrich Ludwig Franz ''Reichsfreiherr'' von Wangen zu Geroldseck (1727–1782) was the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel, Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1775 to 1782. Biography Friedrich Ludwig Franz ''Reichsfreiherr'' von Wangen, Bas-Rhin, Wangen z ...

(1775–1782) *

Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach (1726–1794) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1782 to 1794. Biography Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach was born in Zwingen on 14 December 1726, the son of Franz Josef Konrad von Roggenbach and his wi ...

(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 Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

(1885–1888) * Leonhard Haas (1888–1906) *

Jakobus von Stammler Ulrich Jakobus (born 1967) is Senior Vice President - Electromagnetic Solutions of Altair Engineering, Altair, Germany and was awarded Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2013 ''for leadership in hybrid comput ...

(1906–1925) * Joseph Ambühl (1925–1936) *

Franz von Streng Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

(1936–1967) * Anton Hänggi (1967–1982) *

Otto Wüst Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded ...

(1982–1993) *

Hansjörg Vogel Hansjörg Vogel (born 16 March 1951 in Bern) is a Swiss theologian who was from 1994 until his resignation in 1995 the Roman Catholic bishop of the Basel. Life On 28 November 1976, he received his priestly ordination. After his election as bi ...

(1994–1995) *

Kurt Koch , alt = , caption = Koch pictured in December 2016. , church = Roman Catholic Church , archdiocese = , province = , metropolis = , diocese = , see = , appointed = 1 July 2010 , ended = , predecessor = Walter Kasper , successor = , ...

(1995–2010) *

Felix Gmür Felix Gmür (born 7 June 1966) is a Swiss Roman Catholic bishop. He is the bishop of Basel since his installation on 16 January 2011. He had previously served as secretary of the Swiss Bishops' Conference. Gmür was born in Lucerne in 1966. Fr ...

(2010– ) For a list of bishops prior to 1583, see:

List of Bishops of Basel The beginning of the succession of bishops of Basel is shrouded in legend. The first, St. Pantalus, eludes historical documentation. He is supposed to have been martyred at Cologne with Saint Ursula, who is herself difficult to locate historica ...

External links

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