Franz Xaver von Breuner

Prince-Bishop Franz Xaver von Breuner (oil painting between 1773 and 1777)

Franz Xaver von Breuner (also Franz de Paula Xaver Ludwig Jakob Reichsgraf von Breuner ; born May 21, 1723 in Graz , † March 1, 1797 in Salzburg ) was Prince-Bishop of Lavant from 1773–1777 and Prince-Bishop of Chiemsee from 1786–1797 .

Life

Coat of arms of Franz Xaver von Breuner

Franz Xaver came from the Styrian line of the Austrian noble family Breuner . His father Karl Adam Anton von Breuner was privy councilor , governor of Styria , Attorney General President and Chief Erblandkämmerer in the County of Gorizia . He was married to Maria Josepha Countess von Starhemberg , the mother of Franz Xaver, for the second time . Franz Xaver's brother Anton Ernst Franz von Breuner also embarked on a spiritual career and was vicar general for the Passau diocesan portion of the country ob der Enns .

In 1738 Franz Xaver became domiciliary in Augsburg . In 1743 he was accepted into the Regensburger , 1746 into the Salzburg and 1756 into the Passau cathedral chapter . On December 27, 1754 he was ordained a priest in Salzburg . In 1766 he gave up the Regensburg benefice and from 1768–1773 he was Passau official for the land under the Enns .

After the resignation of Lavant Bishop Peter von Thun , the Archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus von Colloredo, appointed his cousin Franz Xaver von Breuner as his successor on September 30, 1773. The confirmation took place on December 21, 1773, the episcopal ordination on January 9, 1774 by Archbishop Colloredo; Co- consecrators were Joseph von Spaur , Bishop of Seckau , and Ernest Johann Nepomuk von Herberstein (Herbstein), Auxiliary Bishop in Freising . As early as 1773 he received the provost office of St. Moritz in Friesach as well as the title of Archbishop's Salzburg Secret Councilor. With papal approval, he was allowed to retain his canonicals ; the archbishop appointed him vicar general for the Carinthian portion of the archdiocese of Salzburg.

After he was elected dean of the Salzburg Cathedral at the end of 1776 and Archbishop Colloredo had given him the title of Imperial Prince ad personam , he resigned to the Diocese of Lavant on May 1, 1777. In the dispute between Archbishop Colloredo and the Chiemsee Prince-Bishop and the Salzburg Cathedral Chapter , in which the Archbishop's tax policy was attacked, Franz Xaver Breuner was on Colloredo's side. Therefore, he was subsequently excluded from two chapter sessions. After he was accused of having opposed the interests of the cathedral chapter, he resigned from the office of cathedral dean in 1781 .

On June 15, 1786, Franz Xaver Breuner was appointed by Archbishop Colloredo to succeed the late Prince-Bishop of Chiemsee, Ferdinand Christoph von Waldburg-Zeil . According to the confirmation of October 12, 1786, the inauguration took place on April 22, 1787 and in 1788 he gave up his Passau benefice. During his tenure as Bishop of Chiemsee, Aurach became the seat of a vicariate. 1788–1790 he arranged for several side churches to be devastated in his parish . The visit to the Sprengels ordered by him in 1792 could not be completed because the provost of Herrenchiemsee had died. He sold the Emslieb Castle acquired by his predecessor in 1796. His life and the fulfillment of official duties were strongly influenced by Archbishop Colloredo, who was related to him. After his death he was buried in Salzburg Cathedral .

literature

• Erwin Naimer: Breuner, Franz de Paula Xaver Ludwig Jakob Reichsgraf (prince from 1776) von (1723–1797). In: Erwin Gatz (Ed.): The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire. 1648 to 1803. A biographical lexicon. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-06763-0 , pp. 45-46.

Web links

• Entry on Franz Xaver von Breuner on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on August 8, 2017.