| Styles of Felix Gmür |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | not applicable |
Felix Gmür (born 7 June 1966) is the bishop of Basel since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 23 November 2010.[1] He had previously served as secretary of the Swiss Bishops' Conference.
Gmür was born in Lucerne in 1966. From 1986 to 1990 he studied philosophy at the School of Philosophy (of the Jesuits) in Munich and at the Sèvres Centre in Paris and received a licentiate in philosophy. From 1990 to 1994 he studied theology at the Universities of Fribourg and Munich, ending with a degree in theology.
After 1994 he continued his studies of philosophy and exegesis in Munich, also attending courses in art history. In 1997 he obtained his doctorate in philosophy on the aesthetics of Ludwig Wittgenstein. While studying in Munich was a student at the supraregional seminary of that city, the Herzogliches Georgianum.
From 1997 to 1999 did the pastoral internship in the diocese of Basel, working first as a pastoral assistant and later as a deacon in the parish of S. Antonio in Basel. He was ordained a priest on 30 May 1999 in Lucerne for the diocese of Basel. From 1999 to 2001 and was then vicar of that parish administrator of St. Antonio in Basel. From 2001 to 2004 he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University as a student at the Pontifical Teutonic Institute of Santa Maria dell'Anima. From 2004 to 2006 he was Vice-Rector of the Major Seminary in Basel to Lucerne, while working in parishes and Menzingen Neuheim. From 2006 until 2010 he served as secretary of the Swiss Bishops' Conference.[2]
Gmür was chosen by an 18-head advisory council of the cantonal bishopric on 8 September but his nomination had to be approved by the pope. Basel is Switzerland’s largest bishopric and has a history of choosing young heads. His predessor Kurt Koch was 45 when he took office in 1996 and his predecessor Hansjörg Vogel was 43 – although he had to step down 14 months later when it turned out he had a daughter. Gmür was consecrated and installed on 16 January 2011, in Olten.