The Archdiocese of Vienna () 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 ...

archdiocese In 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 provinces were administratively associated ...

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 ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It was erected as the Diocese of Vienna on 18 January 1469 out of the

Diocese of Passau The Diocese of Passau (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.archdiocese In 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 provinces were administratively associated ...

on 1 June 1722. The

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

is situated in the cathedral of St. Stephen in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. The Archdiocese is the

metropolitan diocese A metropolis, metropolitanate or metropolitan diocese is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces. Eastern Ortho ...

of three

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Eisenstadt The Diocese of Eisenstadt () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Eisenstadt in the ecclesiastical province of Vienna in Austria. The episcopal seat is in Eisenstadt Cathedral. History * May 18, 1922: Establis ...

, of Linz, and of Sankt Pölten. These four dioceses together constitute the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of Vienna, one of only two ecclesiastical provinces of Austria, the other under the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, ...

. The archepiscopal see is vacant as of 22 January 2025 after the retirement of Cardinal

Christoph Schoenborn Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenh ...

History

At the request of the Emperor Frederick III, the Diocese of Vienna was established by

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II (; ; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched fr ...

on 18 January 1469, out of territory taken from the

on 1 June 1722. In 1642, St. Roch's Church was built in Vienna by Ferdinand III in thanks for the preservation of Vienna from the plague. Cardinal Joseph Othmar von Rauscher (1853–1875) presided over a provincial synod in the cathedral of S. Stephen in Vienna in October 1858.

Episcopal Ordinaries

;Suffragan Bishops of Vienna * Leo von Spaur † (23 Dec 1471 Confirmed – 6 Mar 1479 Died) *

Georg von Slatkonia George Slatkonia (, also ''Jurij Chrysippus'', Slovenian: ''Jurij Slatkonja'', 21 March 1456 – 26 April 1522) was a Carniolan choirmaster and the first residential Bishop of Vienna. He was also the first owner of an ex libris among the S ...

† (12 Aug 1513 Appointed – 26 Apr 1522 Died) * Johann von Revellis † (6 Apr 1524 Confirmed – 27 Dec 1529 Died) * Johann Fabri † (5 Dec 1530 Appointed – 21 May 1541 Died) *

Friedrich Nausea Frederic Nausea, born Friedrich Grau about 1496 in Waischenfeld, Germany; † 6 February 1552 in Trient, was the Catholic Bishop of the diocese of Vienna. Nausea is the Latin equivalent of his German name (''grauen'' = to disgust, become ashen). ...

† (21 May 1541 Succeeded – 6 Feb 1552 Died) *

Antonín Brus of Mohelnice Antonín Brus of Mohelnice (, ; 13 February 1518 – 28 August 1580) was a Moravian Archbishop of Prague. Life Brus was born on 13 February 1518 in Mohelnice in Moravia. After receiving his education at Prague he joined the Knights of the Cross ...

O. Cruc. The Crosiers, formally known as the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (), abbreviated OSC, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious order of canons regular of Pontifical Right for men.

† (17 Jul 1560 Appointed – 5 Sep 1561 Appointed, Archbishop of Prague) * Johann Kaspar Neuböck † (4 Feb 1575 Appointed – 28 Aug 1594 Died) *

Melchior Klesl Melchior Klesl (19 February 1552 – 18 September 1630) was an Austrian statesman and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church during the time of the Counter-Reformation. He was minister-favourite of King and Emperor Matthias (1609-1618) and a lead ...

† (15 Jul 1613 Appointed – 18 Sep 1630 Died) *

Anton Wolfradt Anton Franz Wolfradt, O.Cist., O.S.B. (9 July 1582, Cologne – 1 April 1639, Vienna) was a Cistercian and Benedictine, Abbot of Wilhering then Kremsmünster, Prince-Bishop of Vienna, and President of the Hofkammer. Biography Anton Wolfradt ...

† (26 May 1631 Confirmed – 1 Apr 1639 Died) *

Philipp Friedrich von Breuner Philipp Friedrich Graf von Breuner (6 September 1597 – 22 May 1669) was an Auxiliary Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Olomouc, Olomouc and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna, Prince-Bishop of Vienna. Biography He was born on 6 September ...

† (5 Sep 1639 Confirmed – 22 May 1669 Died) * Wilderich von Walderdorff † (19 Aug 1669 Confirmed – 4 Sep 1680 Died) * Emerich (Johann Anton) Sinelli, O.F.M. Cap. † (3 Mar 1681 Confirmed – 25 Feb 1685 Died) *

Ernst von Trautson zu Falkenstein Ernst Graf von Trautson (26 December 1633 – 7 January 1702, Vienna), actually Ernst Trautson von Falkenstein zu Sprechenstein und Schroffenstein, was an Austrian Roman Catholic clergyman who was Prince-Bishop of Vienna from 1685 to 1702. Biogr ...

† (10 Sep 1685 Confirmed – 7 Jan 1702 Died) *

Franz Anton von Harrach zu Rorau Franz Anton Fürst von Harrach zu Rorau (born 2 October 1665, Vienna – 18 July 1727, Salzburg) was appointed coadjutor of Vienna and Titular Bishop of Epiphania in Syria in 1701, was from 1702 to 1705 Prince-Bishop of Vienna, 1705 coadjutor ...

† (7 Jan 1702 Succeeded – 31 Jul 1706 Resigned) * Franz Ferdinand von Rummel † (4 Oct 1706 Confirmed – 15 Mar 1716 Died) ;Metropolitan Archbishops of Vienna * Cardinal Sigismund Kollonitsch † (1 Jul 1716 Confirmed - 12 Apr 1751 Died) * Cardinal

Johann Joseph von Trautson zu Falkenstein Johann Joseph Graf von Trautson zu Falkenstein (17 July 1707 – 10 March 1757) was a Roman Catholic clergyman. In 1750 he was coadjutor of the Archdiocese of Vienna and Titular Archbishop of Cartagine, was appointed from 1751 to 1757 the Princ ...

(Trauston) † (12 Apr 1751 Succeeded - 10 Mar 1757 Died) * Cardinal

Christoph Bartholomäus Anton Migazzi Christoph Bartholomäus Anton Migazzi, Count zu Wall und Sonnenthurm; (, , ) (20 October 1714, Trento – 14 April 1803, Vienna) was Prince-Archbishop of Vienna. Early life Christoph Bartholomäus Anton Migazzi was born in 1714, in the Prince- ...

† (23 May 1757 * Confirmed - 14 Apr 1803 Died) *

Sigismund Anton von Hohenwart Sigismund Anton Graf von Hohenwart, S.J. (2 May 1730 – 30 June 1820) was from 1791 to 1794 Bishop of Trieste, from 1794 to 1803 Bishop of St. Pölten, and from 1803 to 1820 he was Prince-Archbishop of Vienna. Biography Von Hohenwart wa ...

, S.J. † (20 Jun 1803 Confirmed - 29 Jun 1820 Died) * Leopold Maximilian Graf von Firmian (Frimian) † (25 January 1822 Appointed – 29 November 1831 Died) *

Vinzenz Eduard Milde Vinzenz Eduard Milde (11 May 1777 – 14 March 1853) was Prince-Archbishop of Vienna. He was the first Prince-Archbishop and commoner: the see had always hitherto been occupied by a nobleman. Life Milde was born on 11 May 1777 in Brno. He ent ...

† (27 October 1831 Appointed – 14 March 1853 Died) * Cardinal

Joseph Othmar von Rauscher Joseph Othmar Ritter von Rauscher (6 October 1797 – 24 November 1875) was an Austrian Prince-Archbishop of Vienna and cardinal. Life Joseph Othmar von Rauscher was born in Vienna on 6 October 1797. He received his earlier education at the ...

† (20 March 1853 Appointed – 24 November 1875 Died) * Cardinal Johann Baptist Rudolph Kutschker † (12 January 1876 Appointed – 27 January 1881 Died) * Cardinal Cölestin Joseph Ganglbauer,

O.S.B. The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

† (23 March 1881 Appointed – 14 December 1889 Died) * Cardinal Anton Josef Gruscha † (24 January 1890 Appointed – 15 August 1911 Died) * Cardinal

Franz Xavier Nagl Franz Xaver Nagl S.T.D. (26 November 1855 – 4 February 1913) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church and Archbishop of Vienna as well as titular Latin Archbishop of Tyre. Biography Nagl was born in Vienna, Austria, as the son of Leopold ...

† (5 August 1911 Succeeded – 4 February 1913 Died) * Cardinal

Friedrich Gustav Piffl Friedrich Gustav Piffl (15 October 1864 – 21 April 1932) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church and Archbishop of Vienna. Early life and education Gustav Piffl was born in Lanškroun, Bohemia, in what was then the Austrian Empire. His father, ...

† (1 April 1913 Appointed – 21 April 1932 Died) * Cardinal

Theodor Innitzer Theodor Innitzer (25 December 1875 – 9 October 1955) was Archbishop of Vienna and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Early life Innitzer was born in Neugeschrei (Nové Zvolání), part of the town Weipert (Vejprty) in Bohemia, at that time ...

† (19 September 1932 Appointed – 9 October 1955 Died) * Cardinal

Franz König Franz König (3 August 1905 – 13 March 2004) was an Austrian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. The last surviving cardinal elevated by Pope Joh ...

† (10 May 1956 Appointed – 16 September 1985 Retired) * Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër,

† (15 July 1986 Appointed – 14 September 1995 Retired) * Cardinal

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Schönborn, OP (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1995 until 2025. He was chairman of the Austrian Bishops' Conferen ...

, O.P. (14 September 1995 Succeeded – 22 January 2025 Retired)

Notable people

Heinrich Maier Heinrich Maier (; 16 February 1908 – 22 March 1945) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, pedagogue, philosopher and a member of the Austrian resistance, who was executed as the last victim of Hitler's regime in Vienna. The resistance gro ...

, important resistance fighter against Nazi terror

References

Sources

*Zschokke, Hermann (1895)
''Geschichte des Metropolitan-Capitels zum heiligen Stephan in Wien.''
. Vienna: C. Konegen, 1895.

External links