Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer

Diocese of Speyer Dioecesis Spirensis
Speyer Cathedral
Location
Country	Germany
Ecclesiastical province	Bamberg
Metropolitan	Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate
Statistics
Area	6,025 km2 (2,326 sq mi)
Population - Catholics	616,485 (44.5%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	4th Century
Cathedral	Speyer Cathedral
Patron saint	Mary, Mother of God
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Bishop	Karl-Heinz Wiesemann Bishop of Speyer
Metropolitan Archbishop	Ludwig Schick Archbishop of Bamberg
Auxiliary Bishop	Otto Georgens
Emeritus Bishops	Anton Schlembach
Map
Website
bistum-speyer.de

The Diocese of Speyer (lat. Dioecesis Spirensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's see is in the Palatinate city of Speyer.

The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann. See also Bishop of Speyer for a list of previous bishops.

As of 31 December 2006, 44.5 % of the population of the diocese was Catholic.

History

In a slightly different hierarchic structure it is one of the oldest Dioceses in Germany. A bishop of Speyer was first mentioned in a document in 346. Through grants by the Holy Roman Emperor, the prince-bishops of Speyer established themselves as worldly as well as spiritual rulers. The Diocese of Speyer in its current form was established within the borders of the former Royal Bavarian Rheinkreis (bayrischer Rheinkreis) in 1817 after the secularization and division of the former bishopric in 1803.

Administration

The diocese is directed by bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.

The diocese is structured in the following deaneries, with borders that are almost the same as the local county borders:

Deanery	City / County	Dean
Bad Dürkheim	Stadt Neustadt, Landkreis Bad Dürkheim	Priest Michael Janson, Hassloch
Donnersberg	Donnersbergkreis	Priest Thomas Brenner, Gerbach
Germersheim	Landkreis Germersheim	Priest Monsignore Felix Hirsch, Bellheim
Kaiserslautern	Stadt Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern (district)	Priest Ewald Sonntag, Kaiserslautern-Erfenbach
Kusel	Kusel (district)	Priest Rudolf Schlenkrich, Kusel
Landau	Stadt Landau, Landkreis Südliche Weinstraße	Priest Klaus Ambrust, Landau
Ludwigshafen	Stadt Ludwigshafen, Stadt Frankenthal, Northern part of Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis	Priest Dr. Gerd Babelotzky, Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim
Pirmasens	Stadt Pirmasens, Stadt Zweibrücken, Landkreis Südwestpfalz	Priest Rudolf Banzer, Pirmasens
Saarpfalz	Saarpfalz district	Priest Karl Josef Lindemann, St. Ingbert
Speyer	Stadt Speyer, Southern part of Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis	Priest Peter Nirmaier, Schifferstadt