Franz Lackner (born 14 July 1956) is an Austrian prelate who has been

Archbishop of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin Church, 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 ...

since 2013. In June 2020 he was elected the president of the

Austrian Bishops' Conference The Austrian Bishops' Conference () is the official assembly of the Roman Catholic bishops of Austria. It is the supreme authority of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria, established as a formal body under public law in 1849. Its members include ...

Life

Franz Lackner was born in Feldbach in the district 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 ...

. He served as a UN soldier and was stationed in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. On 16 September 1984, he became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

. He was professed as a member of the order on 16 September 1985 while he took his solemn profession on 2 September 1989. On 23 June 1991 Lackner was ordained to the priesthood. After gaining his Masters in

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Lackner graduated from the

Pontifical University Antonianum The Antonianum, also known as the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony (, ), and as Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum, is a Franciscan pontifical university in Rome named in honour of Anthony of Padua. It is located in the Rione Esquiline Hill, Es ...

of the Franciscan order in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in philosophy with a dissertation on the subject of "Unity and Multiplicity in

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...

". Subsequently, he was professor of

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

at the Antonianum. On 7 April 1999, he was elected Provincial of the Franciscan Province 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. ...

. In the same year he also became professor of philosophy at the Philosophical-Theological College in

Heiligenkreuz Heiligenkreuz, which means 'Holy Cross' in German, may refer to: In Austria: *Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria, a municipality in Lower Austria **Heiligenkreuz Abbey in this municipality * Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal, a municipality in Burgenland * He ...

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 ...

. On 23 October 2002, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Graz-Seckau and Titular Bishop of Balecium. On 8 December 2002, he was consecrated bishop by the Bishop of Graz-Seckau Egon Kapellari in

Graz Cathedral Graz Cathedral (), also called St. Giles' Cathedral (), is the cathedral church in the Austrian city of Graz, dedicated to Saint Giles. It is the seat of the bishop of the Steiermark diocese from 1786, called the Diocese of Graz-Seckau. The chur ...

. He choose as his motto ''Illum oportet crescere''. On 8 September 2003, he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Permanent Deacons, Youth and Vocations. In 2010 he became an honorary member of the K.Ö.St.V. Babenberg Graz and in 2012 an Honorary Member of the K.Ö.St.V. Nibelungia-Knittel. On 18 November 2013, Lackner was confirmed as

. He was installed on 12 January 2014, in

Salzburg Cathedral Salzburg Cathedral () is the seventeenth-century Baroque architecture, Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the city of Salzburg, Austria, dedicated to Rupert of Salzburg, Saint Rupert and Vergilius of Salzburg, Saint ...

.Franz Lackner ist neuer Salzburger Erzbischof

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio (; ) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, DRM, medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. ...

, 18 November 2013.Seite der Homepage der Diözese Graz-Seckau
retrieved 18 November 2013. Lackner is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Salzburg. He also has the title of

Primas Germaniae Primas Germaniae is a historical title of honor for the most important Catholic bishop (the Primate) in the German lands. Throughout the history of the Holy Roman Empire, it was claimed by the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, Magdeburg and Salzburg a ...

("First Bishop of Germany"). The Archbishop also has the title of ''

Legatus Natus 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Cathol ...

'' ("born legate") to the Pope, which, although not a

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 ...

, gives the Archbishop the privilege of wearing red vesture (which is much deeper than a cardinal's scarlet), even in Rome.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lackner, Franz 1956 births Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg Living people 20th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Austria People from Feldbach District Austrian Franciscans Franciscan bishops