Roman Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau

Diocese of Graz-Seckau Dioecesis Seccoviensis (Latin) Diözese Graz-Seckau (German)
St. Catherine of Alexandria Church with Mausoleum of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Location
Country	Austria
Territory	Styria
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Salzburg
Metropolitan	Graz
Population - Catholics	(as of 2004) 916,050
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	June 22, 1218
Cathedral	Graz Cathedral
Patron saint	Saint Rupert Saint Virgil
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Bishop	Egon Kapellari Bishop of Graz-Seckau Johann Weber (em.)
Metropolitan Archbishop	Alois Kothgasser, SDB Archbishop of Salzburg
Auxiliary Bishop	Most Rev. Franz Lackner OFM
Map
Website
kath-kirche-kaernten.at

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau (Latin: Dioecesis Seccoviensis, German: Diözese Graz-Seckau) is a diocese comprising the Austrian state of Styria and is part of the Ecclesiastical province of Salzburg.

History

The See of Seckau was founded by Archbishop Eberhard II of Salzburg, with the permission of pope Honorius III, on 22 June 1218, as suffragan of Salzburg. Emperor Frederick II gave his consent on 26 October 1218 and conferred on the incumbent of the see the dignity of prince of the Roman Empire. The first bishop was Provost Karl von Friesach (1218-30).

Under Habsburg Emperor Joseph II, the diocese was reorganized and its territory enlarged. The original intention of the emperor, to establish an archbishopric at Graz, was frustrated by the opposition of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

In 1786, however, the residence of the prince-bishop was transferred from Seckau to Graz, the capital of Styria, but the name of the diocese remained unchanged. A new cathedral chapter was installed at Graz, composed at first of three dignitaries and four canons. The see included thenceforth the Salzburg territory in Styria; at the same time a new diocese, the Diocese of Leoben, was created for Upper Styria. After the death of the first and only Bishop of Leoben, the administration of this see was entrusted in 1808 to the bishops of Seckau. The limits of Seckau are due to a regulation of 1859, incorporating the Diocese of Leoben into that of Seckau, while Seckau ceded Southern Styria with its (chiefly) Slovenian population to the Diocese of Lavant.

The Diocese also operates a religious museum housed in the former Jesuit University building in the Graz Old Town across from the cathedral and the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria with the mausoleum of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Special churches

• Church of Göss Abbey, briefly the cathedral of the Diocese of Leoben (Dom Sankt Maria und Andreas): parish church; former abbey church and former cathedral
• Mariazell Basilica (Basilika Mariä Geburt) in Mariazell: minor basilica and national shrine
• Mariatrost Basilica (Basilika Maria Trost) in Mariatrost: minor basilica
• Church of Rein Abbey: abbey church and minor basilica

Leadership

• Bishops of Graz-Seckau (Roman rite):
  • Bishop Egon Kapellari (since 2001.03.14)
  • Bishop Johann Weber (1969.06.10 – 2001.03.14)
  • Archbishop Josef Schoiswohl (1963.04.22 – 1969.01.01)

• Bishops of Seckau (Roman rite):
  • Archbishop Josef Schoiswohl (1954.01.18 – 1963.04.22)
  • Archbishop Ferdinand Stanislaus Pawlikowski (1927.04.26 – 1953.12.07)
  • Bishop Leopold Schuster (1893.10.20 – 1927.03.18)
  • Bishop Johann Baptist Zwerger (1867.08.14 – 1893.08.14)
  • Bishop Ottokar Maria Graf von Attems (1853.09.10 – 1867.04.12)
  • Cardinal Joseph Othmar von Rauscher (1849.01.29 – 1853.06.27)
  • Bishop Roman Sebastian (Franz Xaver) Zängerle, O.S.B. (1824.05.18 – 1848.04.27)
  • Fr. Simon Melchior de Petris (1812.04.19 – 1823.08.01)
  • Bishop Johann Friedrich Graf von Waldenstein-Wartenberg (1802.07.21 – 1812.04.15)
  • Archbishop Joseph Adam Graf Arco (1780.01.01 – 1802.06.03)
  • Bishop Joseph Philipp Franz Reichsgraf von Spaur (1763.10.01 – 1780.03.20)
  • Cardinal Leopold Ernest von Firmian (1739.02.13 – 1763.09.01)
  • Archbishop Jakob Ernst Graf von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn (1728.01.17 – 1739.01.26)
  • Archbishop Leopold Anton Eleutherius Reichsfreiherr von Firmian (1724 – 1727.12.22)
  • Bishop Karl Joseph Reichsgraf von Kuenburg (1723.04.21 – 1723.10.04)
  • Cardinal Joseph Dominicus von Lamberg (1712.03.13 – 1723.03.15)
  • Bishop Franz Anton Adolph Graf von Wagensperg (1702 – 1712.02.18)
  • Bishop Rudolf Joseph Reichsgraf von Thun (1690.02.16 – 1702.05.20)
  • Archbishop Johann Ernst Reichsgraf von Thun (1679.12.29 – 1687.11.24)
  • Bishop Wenzel Wilhelm Reichsgraf von Hofkirchen (1670.02.20 – 1679.11.06)
  • Cardinal Maximilian Gandolph von Künburg (Apostolic Administrator 1668.11.12 – 1687.05.03)
  • Cardinal Maximilian Gandolph von Künburg (1665.02.07 – 1668.07.30)
  • Bishop Johannes Markus Freiherr von Aldringen (1633.08.22 – 1664.02.02)

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Austria

Source

• Giga-Catholic Information
• Catholic Hierarchy
• Diocese website
• Diocesan Museum Graz