The Diocese of Leoben was an Austrian Roman Catholic

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, prov ...

which covered parts 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 ...

previously in the Archdiocese of Salzburg. It was founded on 28 January 1785 but after the death in 1800 of its first and only bishop, its incorporation into the Diocese of Seckau was ordered in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Although the bishops of Seckau administered it from 1808, Papal consent to the unification was not given until 1859.

History

The Diocese of Leoben was created at the wish of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who was also Archduke of

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 ...

, from territory belonging to the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

gave his consent to its creation on 17 March 1786. The first and only Bishop of Leoben was Alexander Franz Joseph Graf Engl von und zu Wagrain, appointed on 20 Nov 1783 and ordained bishop on 30 Apr 1786. The episcopal seat was in the church of the former Göss Abbey near

Leoben Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur River, Mur river. With a population in 2023 of about 25,140 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, ...

, where a

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 ...

was set up. The diocesan territory comprised the districts of

Bruck an der Mur Bruck an der Mur () is a city of some 15,970 people located in the district Bruck-Mürzzuschlag, in the Austrian state of Styria. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Mur and Mürz. Its manufacturing includes metal products and paper. ...

and Judenburg together with the area round Aussee, and contained 157 parishes. After the death of Bishop Engl on 22 February 1800, the diocese was administered by the chapter until 1808, and thereafter by the bishops of Seckau. As early as 13 July 1804, the unification of the Diocese of Leoben with the Diocese of Seckau was ordered by Emperor Francis II. The papacy delayed its ratification however, and the unification did not actually take place until 1 September 1859.

References

Literature

* Tomek, Ernst, 1935-39: ''Kirchengeschichte Österreichs''. Innsbruck-Vienna-Munich: Tyrolia * Wodka, Josef, 1959: ''Kirche in Österreich. Wegweiser durch ihre Geschichte''. Vienna: Herder

External links

History of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau

Styria

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 18th century Religious organizations established in 1786 Establishments in the Duchy of Styria {{Austria-stub