Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising

The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising (German: Erzbistum München und Freising, Latin: Archidioecesis Monacensis et Frisingensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bavaria, Germany. It is led by the prelature of the Archbishop of Munich, who administers the see from the mother church in Munich, the Frauenkirche, also known as Munich Cathedral. The previous cathedral was Freising Cathedral.

The see was canonically erected in about 739 by Saint Boniface as the Diocese of Freising and later became a prince-bishopric. The diocese was dissolved in 1803 following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, although a titular bishop ruled until April 1, 1818, when Pope Pius VII elevated the diocese to an archdiocese with its seat at Munich.

The archdiocese is divided into forty deaneries with 758 parishes. Its suffragan bishops are the Bishop of Augsburg, the Bishop of Passau, and the Bishop of Regensburg.

The most famous archbishop was Joseph Ratzinger, who since was elected as Pope Benedict XVI.

Ordinaries

Bishops of Freising

• Saint Corbinian (723-730; founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organized until 739 by Saint Boniface)
• Erembert (739-747; Corbinian's brother)
• Joseph of Freising, also known as Joseph of Verona (747-764)
• Arbeo (764-783)
• Atto (784-810)
• Hitto (811-834)
• Erchambert (835-854)
• Anno (855-875)
• Arnold (875-883)
• Waldo (883-903)
• Utto (903-907)
• Dracholf (907-926)
• Wolfram (926-937)
• Lantbert (937-957)
• Abraham (957-994)
• Gottschalk (994-1006)
• Egilbert of Moosburg (1006-1039)
• Nitker (1039-1052)
• Ellenhard, Count of Meran (1052-1078)
• Meginhard, Count of Scheyern (1078-1098)
• Heinrich I of Ebersdorf (1098-1137)
• Otto I (1138-1158)
• Albert I (1158-1184)
• Otto II (1184-1220)
• Gerold von Waldeck (1220-1230)
• Konrad I von Tölz und Hohenburg (1230-1258)
• Konrad II of Wittelsbach (1258-1278)
• Friedrich von Montalban (1279-1282)
• Emicho of Wittelsbach (1283-1311)

In 1294, the Bishop's status as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire was confirmed.

Prince-bishops of Freising

• Gottfried von Hexenagger (1311-1314)
• Konrad III der Sendlinger (1314-1322)
• Johannes I Wulfing (1323-1324)
• Konrad IV von Klingenberg (1324-1340)
• Johannes II Hake (1340-1349)
• Albert II of Hohenberg (1349-1359)
• Paul von Jägerndorf (1359-1377)
• Leopold von Sturmberg (1377-1381)
• Berthold von Wehingen (1381-1410)
• Konrad V von Hebenstreit (1411-1412)
• Hermann Graf von Cilli (1412-1421)
• Nicodemus of Scala (1421-1443)
• Heinrich II von Schlick (1443-1448)
• Johann Grünwald (appointed 15 January 1448; died 2 December 1452)
• Johann Tulbeck (appointed January 1453; resigned November 1473)
• Sixtus of Tannberg (appointed 12 January 1474; died 14 July 1495)
• Ruprecht of the Palatinate (appointed 1 August 1495; resigned 3 December 1498)
• Philip of the Palatinate (appointed 1499; died 5 January 1541)
• Heinrich Pfalzgraf von Rhein (succeeded 5 January 1541; succeeded 3 January 1552)
• Leo Lösch von Hilkershausen (appointed 15 February 1552; died 8 April 1559)
• Moritz von Sandizell (appointed 12 June 1559; died 18 October 1566)
• Ernst, Duke of Bavaria (appointed 18 October 1566; died 17 February 1612)
• Stephan von Seiboldsdorf (appointed 7 May 1612; died 16 January 1618)
• Veit Adam Gepeckh von Arnsbach (appointed 12 February 1618; died 8 December 1651)
• Albrecht Sigmund, Duke of Bavaria (succeeded 8 December 1651; died 5 November 1685)
• Joseph Clemens Kajetan, Duke of Bavaria (succeeded 4 November 1685; resigned 29 September 1694)
• Johann Franz Freiherr von Eckher von Kapfing und Liechteneck (appointed 29 January 1695; died 23 February 1727)
• Johann Theodor, duke of Bavaria (succeeded 23 February 1727; died 27 January 1763)
• Klemens Wenzeslaus, Duke of Saxony(appointed 18 April 1763; resigned 20 August 1768)
• Ludwig Joseph Freiherr von Welden auf Laupheim und Hohenaltingen (appointed 23 January 1769; died 15 March 1788)
• Max Polykarp Reichsgraf von Törring-Jettenbach (appointed 26 May 1788; died 30 December 1789)
• Joseph Konrad Freiherr von Schroffenberg, C.R.S.A. (appointed 1 March 1790; died 4 April 1803). After his death, the temporal authority of the bishop was mediatised and abolished by the Elector of Bavaria.
• Joseph Jakob von Heckenstaller, priest, vicar capitular (appointed 14 April 1803; was also named first a vicar general of the metropolite in Salzburg, and soon a papal delegate as "vicar capitular apostolic", but never raised to episcopacy; resigned 16 February 1818). The episcopal functions were exercised by auxiliary bishop Johann Nepomuk Wolf.

Archbishops of Munich-Freising

• Lothar Anselm Freiherr von Gebsattel (appointed 16 February 1818; confirmed soon, but at first only apostolic administrator; archbishop 1 November 1821; died 1 October 1846)
• Karl August Cardinal Graf von Reisach (succeeded 1 October 1846; resigned 19 June 1856)
• Gregor (Leonhard Andreas) von Scherr, O.S.B. (appointed 6 January 1856; died 24 October 1877)
• Antonius von Steichele (appointed 30 April 1878; died 9 October 1889)
• Antonius von Thoma (appointed 23 October 1889; died 24 November 1897)
• Franz Joseph von Stein (appointed 24 December 1897; died 4 May 1909)
• Franziskus Cardinal von Bettinger (appointed 23 May 1909; cardinal 25 May 1914; died 12 April 1917)
• Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber (appointed 26 May 1917; cardinal 7 March 1921; died 12 June 1952)
• Joseph Cardinal Wendel (appointed 9 August 1952; cardinal 12 January 1953; died 31 December 1960)
• Julius August Cardinal Döpfner (appointed 3 July 1961, already a cardinal; died 24 July 1976)
• Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (appointed 24 March 1977; cardinal 27 June 1977; resigned 15 February 1982)
• Friedrich Cardinal Wetter (appointed 28 October 1982; cardinal 25 May 1985; retired 2 February 2007)
• Reinhard Cardinal Marx (appointed 30 November 2007; cardinal 20 November 2010)

Auxiliary Bishops

• Franz Xavier Schwarzenböck

Residence

The residence of the Archbishops of Munich and Freising is the Palais Holnstein in Munich.

Sources and external links

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich (German)
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Archdiocese of Munich
• Catholic Encyclopedia article (history of the diocese up to Archbishop von Bettinger)