The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Wiener Neustadt in

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

existed from 1469 to 1785. In 1990, it was re-established as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

which is held by the bishop for the Military Services in Austria.

History

Upon the request of the Emperor Frederick III, the diocese was created 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 14 January 1469, and was immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. At first it was coterminous with the town of

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

. In 1769 the new

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Theresienfeld was added and in 1784 its territory was extended from Wiener-Neustadt to the boundary of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. On 21 April 1785, the see was incorporated in the

Archdiocese of Vienna The Archdiocese of Vienna () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Austria. It was erected as the Diocese of Vienna on 18 January 1469 out of the Diocese of Passau, and elevated to an archdiocese on 1 June 1722. The episcopa ...

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

. Its last bishop, Johann Heinrich von Kerens, S.J. (1775–1785), and his

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

were transferred to the newly erected Diocese of Sankt Pölten.

Cathedral

The Late- Romanesque ''Dom'' or

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

was

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d in 1279 and remained the cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

, in

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

s were added in the apse, while the bust of

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

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 ...

is attributed to

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

Diocesan Bishops

* ''Michael Altkind (

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

1469–1475)'' * Petrus Engelprecht (1476–1491) * Augustin Kiebinger (1491–1495) * Theoderich Kammerer (1521–1530) * '' Johann Fabri (

Coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

1524–1530)'' * Gregor Angerer (1531–1548) * Heinrich Muelich (1549–1550) * ''Christoph Wertwein (Apostolic Administrator 1550–1553)'' * Franz Abstemius (1555–1558) * Martin Durlacher (1558–1559) * Kaspar von Logau (1560–1562) * Christian Napponäus (1564–1571) * Lambert Gruter (1572–1582) * Martin Radwiger (1587–1588) * '' Melchior Khlesl (Apostolic Administrator 1588–1630; also

Bishop of Vienna The Archbishop of Vienna is the prelate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna who is concurrently the metropolitan bishop of its ecclesiastical province which includes the dioceses of Eisenstadt, Linz and St. Pölten. From 1469 to 1513, b ...

and cardinal (1598–1630)'' * Matthias Geißler (1631–1639) * Johannes Thuanus (1639–1666) * Laurenz Aidinger (1666–1669) *

Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch (also spelt ''Collonicz'', ''Colonitz'', ''Kollonitz'', ''Kolonits'' and ''Kolonić''; 26 October 1631 – 20 January 1707) or Lipót Kollonich was a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of Kalocsa and late ...

(1669–1686), later Bishop of Raab * Christoph de Rojas y Spinola (1685–1695) * Franz Anton von Puchheim (1695–1718) * Ignaz von Lovina (1718–1720) * Joseph Ignaz della Rovere (1720–1721) * Johann Moritz Gustav von Manderscheid-Blankenheim (1721–1734), later

Archbishop of Prague The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague. The bishopric of Prague was established in 973, and elevated to an archbishopric on 30 April 1344. The current Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague is the continual successor of the bi ...

* Johann Franz Anton von Khevenhüller (1734–1740) * Ferdinand Michael Cyriakus von Hallweil (1741–1773) * Johann Heinrich von Kerens (1773–1785), became first Bishop of Sankt Pölten

Titular Bishops

* Alfred Kostelecky (1990-1994), bishop of the

Military Ordinariate of Austria The Military Ordinariate of Austria (, ) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church. Immediately exempt to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Catholics serving in the Austrian Armed Forces and their families. Histo ...

Christian Werner Christian Werner (19 May 1892 – 17 June 1932) was a German racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, t ...

(1997–present), bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Austria

Sources

* Wiedermann, ''Beitrage zur Gesch. des Bis. Wiener Neustadt'', in Oesterreich, Vierteljahrsschrift fur kath. Theol. (Vienna, 1864-9).
Catholic-Hierarchy: Diocese of Wiener Neustadt (Suppressed)
* {{authority control

Wiener Wiener (from German: "Viennese") may refer to: Food * A Vienna sausage of German origin, in German ''Wiener'', named after the capital of Austria * A hot dog, a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed and served in a sliced bun * A Po ...

Wiener Neustadt