Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer explained

Jurisdiction:Diocese
Speyer
Latin:Dioecesis Spirensis
Local:Bistum Speyer
Country: Germany
Province:Bamberg
Area Km2:6,025
Population:1,307,678
Population As Of:2010
Catholics:616,485
Catholics Percent:44.5
Parishes:346
Denomination:Catholic
Sui Iuris Church:Latin Church
Rite:Roman Rite
Established:4th Century
Cathedral:Speyer Cathedral
Patron:Mary, Mother of God
Bishop:Karl-Heinz Wiesemann
Bishop of Speyer
Metro Archbishop:Ludwig Schick
Archbishop of Bamberg
Auxiliary Bishops:Otto Georgens
Map:Karte Bistum Speyer.png

The Diocese of Speyer (Latin: Dioecesis Spirensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's see is in the Palatinate city of Speyer.

The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.

As of 31 December 2006, 44.5% of the population of the diocese was Catholic.

History

In a slightly different hierarchic structure, it is one of the oldest Dioceses in Germany. A bishop of Speyer was first mentioned in a document in 346. Through grants by the Holy Roman Emperor, the prince-bishops of Speyer established themselves as worldly as well as spiritual rulers. The Diocese of Speyer in its current form was established within the borders of the former Rheinkreis, a district of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1817 after the secularization and division of the former bishopric in 1803.

For these historical reasons, Speyer belongs to the Province of Bamberg in Bavaria now, even though its territory has no direct border to Bamberg or any other Bamberg suffragan, and is a member of the Episcopal Conference of Bavaria as well as (like all Bavarian bishops) that of Germany.

Bishops

The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann. See also Bishop of Speyer for lists of bishops of the diocese and auxiliary bishops.

Administration

The diocese is directed by bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.

The diocese is structured in the following deaneries, with borders that are almost the same as the local county borders:

DeaneryCity / CountyDean
Bad DürkheimPriest Michael Paul, Neustadt
DonnersbergDistrict DonnersbergkreisPriest Markus Horbach, Rockenhausen
GermersheimPriest Jörg Rubeck, Germersheim
KaiserslauternKaiserslautern city, Kaiserslautern districtPriest Steffen Kühn, Kaiserslautern
KuselPriest Michael Kapolka, Schönenberg-Kübelberg
LandauLandau city, district Südliche WeinstraßePriest Axel Brecht, Landau
LudwigshafenCity of LudwigshafenPriest Dominik Geiger, Ludwigshafen
PirmasensPirmasens city, Zweibrücken city, district SüdwestpfalzPriest Johannes Pioth, Pirmasens
SaarpfalzSaarpfalz districtPriest Eric Klein, Blieskastel-Lautzkirchen
SpeyerCity of Speyer, Frankenthal city, district Rhein-Pfalz-KreisPriest Pfarrer Markus Hary, Bobenheim-Roxheim

References

49.3171°N 8.4424°W