Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen
| Diocese of Aachen Dioecesis Aquisgranensis Bistum Aachen | |
|---|---|
 Aachen Cathedral | |
| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Cologne |
| Coordinates | 51°19′55″N 6°33′34″E / 51.331952°N 6.559439°ECoordinates: 51°19′55″N 6°33′34″E / 51.331952°N 6.559439°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 3,937 km2 (1,520 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2012) 2,028,699 1,110,948 (54.8%) |
| Parishes | 538 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | Aachen Cathedral |
| Patron saint | Mary, Mother of Jesus |
| Secular priests | 535 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Rainer Maria Woelki |
| Auxiliary Bishops |
Johannes Bündgens, Karl Borsch |
| Vicar General | Manfred von Holtum |
| Emeritus Bishops |
Gerd Dicke Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1970-2003) Karl Reger Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1987-2006) Heinrich Mussinghoff Bishop emeritus |
| Map | |
 Location of the Diocese of Aachen | |
The Diocese of Aachen is one of 27 dioceses in Germany. It is also one of seven dioceses that has a majority Catholic population, 57.6%. The weekly Mass attendance rate in the diocese is 11.5%.
Geography
The diocese is in the west of Germany, extending from the town Krefeld in the north till mountainous area of the Eifel to the south. Neighboring dioceses are Cologne, Münster, Essen and Trier in Germany, Liège in Belgium and Roermond of the Netherlands.
The diocese is subdivided into seven regions, which are in turn further subdivided into 538 parishes.
- Region Aachen-Stadt (Aachen city)
- Region Düren
- Region Eifel
- Region Heinsberg
- Region Kempen Viersen
- Region Krefeld
- Region Mönchengladbach
Ordinaries
The bishop emeritus of Aachen is Heinrich Mussinghoff. There are two auxiliary bishops, Johannes Bündgens and Karl Borsch. There are two emeritus auxiliary bishops, Gerd Dicke and Karl Reger.
The vicar general is Manfred von Holtum, who was appointed to the post on October 1, 1997.
List of diocesan bishops
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9 May 1802 to 13 August 1809 | Marc Antoine Berdolet | Installed 25 July 1802; died in office |
| 1825 | Diocese abolished | |
| 1931 | Diocese re-established | |
| 30 January 1931 to 5 October 1937 | Joseph Vogt | Ordained 19 March 1931; installed 25 March 1931; died in office |
| 7 September 1943 to 19 May 1954 | Johannes Joseph van der Velden | Priest of Köln Cologne; ordained 10 October 1943; died in office |
| 30 August 1954 to 13 December 1974 | Johannes Pohlschneider | Priest of Münster; ordained 18 November 1954; retired |
| 9 September 1975 to 23 January 1994 | Klaus Hemmerle | Priest of Freiburg im Breisgau; Ordained 8 November 1975; died in office |
| 12 December 1994 to 8 December 2015 | Heinrich Mussinghoff | Priest of Münster; Ordained 11 February 1995 |
List of auxiliary bishops
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1931 to 1943 | Hermann Joseph Sträter | Ordained 16 October 1931, became Apostolic Administrator 15 May 1938, died 16 March 1943 |
| 1938 to 1969 | Friedrich Hünermann | Ordained 3 December 1938, died 15 February 1969 |
| 1961 to 1979 | Joseph Ludwig Buchkremer | Ordained 21 December 1961, retired 4 October 1979 |
| 1970 to 2003 | Ernst Franz Gerd Werner Dicke | Ordained 11 April 1970, retired 21 November 2003 |
| 1978 to 1980 | Maximilian Goffart | Ordained 18 February 1978, died 17 July 1980 |
| 1981 to 1986 | Augustus Peters | Ordained 6 April 1981, died 3 May 1986 |
| 1987 to 2006 | Karl Reger | Ordained 7 February 1987, retired 15 March 2006 |
| 2003 to present | Karl Borsch | Ordained 17 January 2004 |
| 2006 to present | Johannes Bündgens | Ordained 20 May 2006 |
History
Historically the city of Aachen belonged to the Diocese of Liège, divided by the Archdiocese of Cologne by the Wurm River.
The diocese was first created in 1802, covering the area west of the Rhine formerly belonging to Cologne, as well as parts from the dioceses Liege, Utrecht, Roermond and Mainz. After the first bishop Marc Antoine Berdolet died in 1809, Pope Pius VII didn't approve the successor suggested by Napoleon, Jean Dénis Francois Le Camus. After the end of the French rulership over the area the diocese was abolished by the bull "De salute animarum" of July 16, 1821, and included into the archdiocese of Cologne.
On August 13, 1930 by the papal bull "Pastorale officii nostri" the diocese was reerected. Joseph Vogt was appointed as its first bishop.
Major Churches
The cathedral of the diocese is the Aachen Cathedral, which was built in 800 by Charlemagne. It also was the first German world heritage site, inscribed in 1980.
The diocese has two churches that have been given the status of basilica minor.
- Basilica SS. Potentinus, Felicius und Simplicius, Kall-Steinfeld, October 7, 1960
- Münster-Basilica St. Vitus, Mönchengladbach, April 25, 1973
See also
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Germany | ||
| Archdioceses | Dioceses | |
| Bamberg | Eichstätt | Speyer | Würzburg | |
| Berlin | Dresden-Meissen | Görlitz | |
| Freiburg im Breisgau | Mainz | Rottenburg-Stuttgart | |
| Hamburg | Hildesheim | Osnabrück | |
| Cologne | Aachen | Essen | Limburg | Münster | Trier | |
| Munich & Freising | Augsburg | Passau | Regensburg | |
| Paderborn | Erfurt | Fulda | Magdeburg | |
|