Diocese of Osnabrück

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diocese of Osnabrück
Erzbistum Freiburg Erzbistum Bamberg Erzbistum Berlin Erzbistum Hamburg Erzbistum Köln Erzbistum München und Freising Erzbistum Paderborn Bistum Aachen Bistum Augsburg Bistum Dresden-Meißen Bistum Eichstätt Bistum Erfurt Bistum Essen Bistum Fulda Bistum Görlitz Bistum Hildesheim Bistum Limburg Bistum Magdeburg Bistum Mainz Bistum Mainz Bistum Münster Bistum Münster Bistum Osnabrück Bistum Passau Bistum Regensburg Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart Bistum Speyer Bistum Trier Bistum Trier Bistum WürzburgMap of the Diocese of Osnabrück
About this picture
Basic data
Country Germany
Ecclesiastical province Hamburg
Metropolitan bishopric Archdiocese of Hamburg
Diocesan bishop Franz-Josef Bode
Auxiliary bishop Johannes Wübbe
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Theodor Kettmann
Vicar General Theo Paul
surface 12,580 km²
Dean's offices 10 (December 31, 2013 / AP 2014 )
Parishes 208 (December 31, 2018)
Residents 2,186,946 (December 31, 2018)
Catholics 552,990 (December 31, 2018)
proportion of 25.3%
Diocesan priest 262 (December 31, 2018)
Religious priest 56 (December 31, 2018)
Catholics per priest 1,739
Permanent deacons 90 (December 31, 2018)
Friars 67 (December 31, 2018)
Religious sisters 641 (December 31, 2018)
rite Roman rite
Liturgical language Latin , German
cathedral St. Peter's Cathedral
address Hasestr. 40a
49074 Osnabrück
Website www.bistum-osnabrueck.de
Ecclesiastical province
Erzbistum Freiburg Erzbistum Bamberg Erzbistum Berlin Erzbistum Hamburg Erzbistum Köln Erzbistum München und Freising Erzbistum Paderborn Bistum Aachen Bistum Augsburg Bistum Dresden-Meißen Bistum Eichstätt Bistum Erfurt Bistum Essen Bistum Fulda Bistum Görlitz Bistum Hildesheim Bistum Limburg Bistum Magdeburg Bistum Mainz Bistum Mainz Bistum Münster Bistum Münster Bistum Osnabrück Bistum Passau Bistum Regensburg Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart Bistum Speyer Bistum Trier Bistum Trier Bistum WürzburgMap of the church province of Hamburg
About this picture

The Diocese of Osnabrück ( Latin Dioecesis Osnabrugensis ) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany. It includes areas in western Lower Saxony and the part of the city of Bremen south of the Lesum . Since 1995 the diocese has been part of the newly established church province of Hamburg .

History of the diocese

middle Ages

The Diocese of Osnabrück was founded by Charlemagne around 780 to 800 - research opinions differ about the exact date . It was one of the mission dioceses in Sachsenland . The first bishop was St. Wiho . Its territory comprised the countries between the Ems and Hunte and was subordinate to the Archdiocese of Cologne. The most important of the bishops of Osnabrück in the Middle Ages was Benno II (1068–88), a loyal supporter of King Henry IV.

After the great fire in Osnabrück around 1100, the bishops had their residence in the double complex of castle and Benedictine abbey of Iburg , south of Osnabrück , until Prince-Bishop Ernst August I of Braunschweig-Lüneburg moved into Osnabrück Castle in 1673 .

In the 14th century, a development came to an end, which brought the Osnabrück bishop's seat to rule over an imperial territory , the Osnabrück bishopric . Its territory never coincided with that of the ecclesiastical diocese, but was politically and economically inextricably linked with it.

Early modern age

Blaeu, 1645

Under Franz von Waldeck (1532–1553), who was also Bishop of Minden and Münster , the Reformation found its way into Osnabrück. A mixed denominational church system developed in the diocese, also in the parts that belonged politically to the monastery of Münster , which regarded itself as Catholic, but took over essential elements from Lutheranism that the rest of Catholicism fought. This only changed in 1623, when Eitel Friedrich von Hohenzollern began to push through the Counter-Reformation after being elected bishop . In the further course of the Thirty Years War the diocese was temporarily occupied by troops of the League and the Union as well as Danish and Swedish troops.

It was not until the Peace of Westphalia that in principle there was a clear denominational assignment for the Niederstift Münster in questions of political rule. For religious and church affairs, however, the Diocese of Osnabrück remained responsible in the Niederstift Münster until 1668. It was only in this year that the then Prince-Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen, acquired the sovereignty of his territory in matters of faith and church organization.

In the bishopric of Osnabrück , on the other hand, the denomination was largely distributed over the long term to the parishes, which were then committed to the dogmatic consequences of the respective denomination. This also applies to the parishes used by both denominations.

In accordance with the provisions of Article XIII of the Westphalian Peace Treaty and the resolutions passed at the Reichstag in Nuremberg in 1650, in a "perpetual surrender" (Capitulatio perpetua osnabrugensis), sovereignty was exercised alternately by a Catholic bishop elected by the cathedral chapter and a Lutheran bishop who was appointed by the ducal house Braunschweig-Lüneburg was named. During the reign of a Lutheran bishop, ecclesiastical powers over the Catholic clergy and the Catholic residents of the bishopric were exercised by the Archbishop of Cologne . The free practice of religion of the other denomination was regulated in the "Perpetual Surrender".

18th and 19th centuries

Former prince-bishop's office

The last Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück was Friedrich August, Duke of York and Albany , the second son of George III. of England and British Field Marshal. Friedrich August was appointed secular Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück by his father in 1763 at the age of 196 days. During his tenure, the prince-bishop's office , the first classicist building in Osnabrück, was built. On October 29, 1802, Friedrich August transferred the Osnabrück Monastery to his father, who incorporated it into the Electorate of Hanover on November 4, 1802. Karl Klemens von Gruben , who held office from 1803 to 1827, was installed as auxiliary bishop in Osnabrück .

After Hanover's annexation of some of the former ecclesiastical principalities, the Kingdom of Hanover began negotiations with the Holy See for a concordat in 1816 , but these finally failed in 1821. Thereupon Hanover sought - following the Prussian example ( De salute animarum ) - only one circumscription bull .

According to the treaty between Hanover and Rome of August 13, 1823, Pope Leo XII. then on March 26, 1824 the corresponding bull Impensa Romanorum Pontificum , which redrew the boundaries of the Hanoverian dioceses of Hildesheim and Osnabrück, so that all state territory belonged to one of the two dioceses. Since then, Osnabrück's diocesan area has included, with few deviations, the part of the Kingdom of Hanover located west of the Weser (and later the Prussian province of Hanover ), or the state of Lower Saxony , if one disregards the former Oldenburg .

However, the chair in Osnabrück remained vacant until further notice and the shepherd of Hildesheim would be Bishop of Osnabrück in personal union, but would be represented there by the vicar general and auxiliary bishop . Because the Curia and the Royal Great Britain Hanoverian secret councilors (government), which had been appointed to the Cabinet Ministerio, remained at odds over the financing of the Diocese of Osnabrück and had postponed the clarification until later.

Hanover had also enforced that both dioceses were not suffragans of a foreign archbishopric, but that Osnabrück, previously the suffragan of Cologne, now Prussian, was exempted and Hildesheim remained so. It was not until 1858 that the diocese received its own bishop again, Paulus Melchers .

20th century

In 1930, due to the Circumcription Bull Pastoralis officii nostri , the predominantly Lutheran " North German Missions " came to the diocese, whose exemption ended and which again became a suffragan diocese in Cologne's Rhenish Church Province . The part of the province of Hanover , which lay west of the Weser, as well as the area around Twistringen , Bremen , Hamburg , Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg , until 1965 also the former Hamburg office Ritzebüttel ( Cuxhaven ) and Schaumburg-Lippe (then to Hildesheim). After 1973 the parts of the diocese located in the GDR were administered by an apostolic administrator , as the episcopal office of Schwerin . Since then, the Catholic Church in Mecklenburg has been directly subordinate to the Pope, but under canon law the area still belonged to the Diocese of Osnabrück.

The Archdiocese of Hamburg was founded in 1995 , almost entirely from parts of the then Diocese of Osnabrück (exceptions are the southern Elbe parts of Hamburg, which belonged to the Diocese of Hildesheim). As a result, only the parts of Lower Saxony and, in part, the city of Bremen remained with the Diocese of Osnabrück. It now has an area of ​​around 12,500 km² and around 581,000 Catholics in 256 parishes. Since then, Osnabrück has belonged to the ecclesiastical province of Hamburg , before that to the metropolitan area of ​​Cologne.

present

St. Peter's Cathedral in Osnabrück

As part of the so-called Perspective Plan 2015, the diocese is preparing for the future with the help of a dialogical path. In addition to the previous model of the community network, a so-called “pastoral space”, the legal association of previously independent church communities, will be possible. On January 1st, 2006 the first pastoral room “St. Christophorus ”in Stolzenau (Nienburg district) through the merger of the previous association of Catholic parishes in Stolzenau , Liebenau , Steyerberg and Uchte . Furthermore, the priestly council decided to reduce the size from 16 to ten deaneries . This was implemented on January 1, 2007.

The 97th German Catholic Day took place from May 21 to 25, 2008 in Osnabrück.

By the end of November 2010, 28 cases of sexual abuse were known in the Diocese of Osnabrück . In December 2018, the diocese announced sexual abuse by priest Hermann H. from Merzen, who had been retired in 1997, in the 1980s and 1990s; The relevant public prosecutor's office suspended the investigation due to the statute of limitations .

Cathedral and churches of the diocese

cathedral

The cathedral of the diocese is St. Peter's Cathedral in Osnabrück. It was completely renovated from around 1995 to 2004.

Pilgrimage sites

The pilgrimage sites are all in the Osnabrück area , in the county of Bentheim and in the Emsland, and thus in the southwest of the diocese.

Other important churches and institutions

Provost churches

Other church buildings

Church closings

Development of membership numbers

Declining church tax revenues and the number of Catholics as well as a shortage of priests are forcing not only parishes to merge and pastoral care units, but also churches to be closed. The buildings are being converted into living space, given to other religious communities or demolished. The following churches are affected:

  • Martfeld , branch church of the parish Bruchhausen-Vilsen - conversion as residential building
  • Wagenfeld , branch church of the parish Christ King, Diepholz - conversion as residential building
  • Borgfeld , St. Katharina (chapel) - Dedication 1994
  • Grolland , St. Franziskus, branch church of the parish of St. Pius, Bremen - consecration 1966, demolition in 1995
  • Vahr , St. Laurentius (church), branch church of the parish of St. Raphael, Bremen - consecration in 1963, demolished in 1999, replaced in 2000 by St. Laurentius chapel
  • Reuschberge, St. Michael, branch church of the parish of St. Bonifatius, Lingen - consecration in 1969, last service in 2001, used as a cultural center
  • Eystrup , St. Raphael, branch church of the parish St. Michael, Hoya - church consecration 1962, deedication 2004, demolition 2006
  • Neustadt (Bremen) , Herz Jesu, branch church of the parish of St. Franziskus, Bremen - consecration in 1937, reduced to a chapel in 2008 and integrated into the elderly center
  • Klausheide , St. Ludgerus, branch church of the parish of St. Augustinus , Nordhorn - consecration in 1965, deedication in 2009, demolished in August 2011
  • Füchtenfeld , Holy Cross , branch church of the parish St. Johannes Apostel , Wietmarschen - church consecration 1966, deedication in June 2010, demolition in October 2010
  • Gröpelingen , St. Nikolaus, branch church of the parish of St. Marien, Bremen - consecration in 1959, profanation in 2012, conversion and inauguration as a community center with kindergarten in 2014
  • Hemelingen -Arbergen, St. Barbara, branch church of the parish St. Raphael, Bremen - church consecration 1977, profanation 2011, sold, demolition planned

(See also: Church Closure )

Structural changes

The diocese is structurally preparing for the future. The so-called Perspective Plan 2015 is currently being worked on. It envisages reducing the number of pastoral units from the current 130 to 60 to 70. The structure of the new units (one parish or several parishes in a community) is left open.

These changes were implemented in mutual agreement with the community members and those responsible.

January 1, 2006: Foundation of the new parish of St. Christophorus in Stolzenau with the simultaneous dissolution of the four previous parishes of St. Georg Stolzenau, St. Stephanus Liebenau , St. Ursula Uchte and St. Marien Steyerberg . The four worship locations will remain in place until further notice.

June 22, 2006: The parishes of St. Barbara and Herz Jesu in Osnabrück are assigned to the cathedral parish of St. Petrus. The worship locations and kindergartens St. Barbara and Herz Jesu will remain in place until further notice.

January 1, 2007: The 16 parishes in the city of Bremen are merged into five new parishes (Propstei St. Johann, St. Katharina, St. Raphael, St. Franziskus, St. Marien).

Diocese leadership

Bishop and auxiliary bishop

Vicar General

Vicar General has been Prelate Theo Paul since 1997 .

Officially

Father Dominik Kitta OPraem is the official of the Diocese of Osnabrück .

Caritas

Diocesan Caritas director is Franz Loth. The tasks of the Caritas and Social Work department in the Episcopal General Vicariate are carried out by the Caritas Association Osnabrück and the Caritas Association Bremen. For example, it offers help with outpatient and inpatient care, addiction or disability as well as advice and support for people in need, migrants or the homeless.

Cathedral chapter

The cathedral chapter consists of a dignity and eight capitulars :

  • Domdechant Ansgar Lüttel (chairman of the chapter)
  • Domkapitular Ulrich Beckwermert
  • Cathedral Chapter Reinhard Molitor
  • Cathedral Capitular Vicar General Theo Paul
  • Cathedral Chapter Martin Schomaker
  • Cathedral Chapter Alfons Strodt
  • Cathedral Chapter Hermann Wieh
  • Cathedral Capitular Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Wübbe

Cathedral capitular emeritus:

  • Cathedral capitular em. Norbert Friebe
  • Cathedral capitular em. Prof. Heinrich Jacob
  • Cathedral capitular em. Auxiliary Bishop Theodor Kettmann
  • Dean em. Heinrich Plock
  • Cathedral capitular em. Hermann Rickers
  • Dean em. Heinrich Silies
  • Cathedral capitular em. Karl Wöste

Dome of Honor:

Domvikars (up to four):

  • Currently not occupied.

Dean's offices

  1. Deanery Grafschaft Bentheim
  2. Deanery Bremen
  3. Deanery Emsland-Mitte
  4. Deanery Emsland-Nord
  5. Deanery Emsland-Süd
  6. Deanery Osnabrück-North
  7. Deanery Osnabrück City
  8. Deanery Osnabrück-South
  9. Deanery East Friesland
  10. Deanery Twistringen

Former and Emeritus Bishops

Former bishops

Former auxiliary bishops

Diocesan calendar

In the Diocese of Osnabrück, the regional calendar for the German-speaking area is supplemented by the following celebrations (followed by the rank)

Abbreviations: H = high festival, F = festival, G = required day of remembrance, g = not required day of remembrance

See also

Web links

Commons : Diocese of Osnabrück  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Catholic Church in Germany. (PDF: 1,041 kB) Statistical data 2018. Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, July 19, 2019, p. 3 , accessed on July 19, 2019 .
  2. ↑ AP2019
  3. ^ Franz Josef Scheeben: Oldenburg has been part of the Münster diocese for 350 years. Why "Bomben-Bernd" bought the spiritual power in South Oldenburg. In: Church + Life Network. Dialog-Medien und Emmaus-Reisen GmbH, September 14, 2018, accessed on July 24, 2019 .
  4. ^ Pius Gams , History of the Church of Christ in the Nineteenth Century, with Special Consideration for Germany : 3 Bde., Innsbruck: Wagner, 1854-1856, Volume 3 (1856), pp. 460seq.
  5. ^ Pius Gams, History of the Church of Christ in the Nineteenth Century, with Special Consideration for Germany : 3 Bde., Innsbruck: Wagner, 1854-1856, Volume 3 (1856), p. 461.
  6. ↑ a b Joseph Lins: Diocese of Osnabrück. In: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 11 Robert Appleton Company, 1911., accessed July 26, 2011 .
  7. ^ Pius Gams, History of the Church of Christ in the Nineteenth Century, with Special Consideration for Germany : 3 Bde., Innsbruck: Wagner, 1854-1856, Volume 3 (1856), p. 462.
  8. ^ Pius Gams, History of the Church of Christ in the Nineteenth Century, with Special Consideration for Germany : 3 Bde., Innsbruck: Wagner, 1854-1856, Volume 3 (1856), p. 463.
  9. ↑ Concordat between the Holy See and the State of Lower Saxony. Article 2. In: vatican.va. The Holy See, February 26, 1965, accessed July 24, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Osnabrück bishop confesses guilt of the Catholic Church. In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung. November 28, 2010, accessed July 24, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Diocese of Osnabrück announces abuse by priests. In: bistum-osnabrueck.de. Diocese of Osnabrück, December 15, 2018, accessed on July 24, 2019 .
  12. ↑ a b Benedikt Benninghaus: The continuity of the pilgrimage to the Holy Cross in location . Münster 2014, ISBN 3-95645-254-2 .
  13. ↑ Data on the history of the Catholics in Bremen. In: kgv-bremen.de. Catholic Community Association in Bremen, accessed on July 24, 2019 .
  14. ^ Church and institutions. In: raphael-bremen.de. Catholic parish of St. Raphael, accessed on July 24, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Michael Church in Lingen raised to the status of a monument. In: New Osnabrück Newspaper. December 11, 2001, accessed July 24, 2019 .
  16. ↑ The end of a church. In: Kreiszeitung.de. May 14, 2014, accessed July 24, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from December 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ^ Ludger Jungeblut: Church existed only 44 years. Demolition work has started. In: New Osnabrück Newspaper. October 6, 2010, accessed July 24, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from February 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) St. Nicholas in a new guise
  20. ^ Farewell to St. Barbara Chapel. Parish of St. Raphael celebrates last service in Arbergen on July 2nd. In: kgv-bremen.de. Catholic Community Association in Bremen, June 4, 2011, accessed on July 24, 2019 .
  21. ↑ The cathedral chapter. In: website of the diocese. Retrieved January 22, 2014 .