Joseph Adam of Arco

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Joseph Adam Graf von Arco, lithograph by Faustin Herr
Coat of arms Joseph Adam von Arco, Bishop of Königgrätz (1776–1780)

Joseph Adam von Arco (also: Joseph Adam Graf Arco ; Czech: Josef Adam Arco ; born January 27, 1733 in Salzburg ; † June 3, 1802 in Graz ) was auxiliary bishop in Passau , bishop of Königgrätz and prince-bishop of Seckau .

Origin and career

His parents were Anton Felix von Arco and Josephine, geb. from Hardegg . Joseph studied as an alumne at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome and obtained the academic degree of Dr. theol. et phil. He was ordained a priest on December 7, 1755 . In 1760 he was appointed cathedral capitular in Passau. On April 9, 1764 he was appointed titular bishop of Hippo and auxiliary bishop as well as official for the Lower Austrian part of the Diocese of Passau. The episcopal ordination took place on May 1, 1764 by the Passau prince-bishop Leopold Ernst von Firmian . In 1773 Joseph Adam von Arco gave up the post of auxiliary bishop and later received a canonical in Salzburg .

Bishop of Königgrätz

After the death of the Bishop of Königgrätz, Johann Andreas Kayser von Kaysern , Empress Maria Theresa nominated Joseph Adam von Arco as his successor in her capacity as Queen of Bohemia on May 17, 1776. The papal confirmation of July 15 of the same year was followed by the possession of the diocese on August 25. He began by visiting the Sprengels and intended to reorganize the parishes, but this was not carried out because he had been mainly in Salzburg since 1778.

Prince-Bishop of Seckau

The Salzburg Prince Archbishop Colloredo appointed Joseph Adam von Arco on January 1, 1780 as the successor to Seckau's Bishop Josef II. Philipp Franz Graf von Spaur . In Seckau, which at the time was a Salzburg diocese , Arco, who was close to Jansenism , supported the Josephine reforms , which were contained in his Sprengel u. a. the abolition of several monasteries and the reduction of brotherhoods . He was opposed to the patent of tolerance announced by Joseph II in 1781 and instead recommended Catholic religious instruction for those of different faiths. He supported the imperial ban on the publication of the papal bull Unigenitus Dei filius of 1713, with which Jansenism was condemned.

During his tenure, Lavant, who had the status of a Salzburg diocese, was raised to a suffragan in the church province of Salzburg in 1786 . At the same time the bishopric was moved to the provincial capital Graz , the Ädigkirche there was elevated to a cathedral and a cathedral chapter was established. The establishment of an inner Austrian ecclesiastical province of Graz, which was envisaged as part of the Josephine reforms, failed due to the resistance of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Colloredo, although a general seminar and theological faculty had already been set up in Graz in 1783 and Arco was appointed archbishop at the same time.

After the death of Joseph II, Arco and other Austrian bishops approached Emperor Leopold II with a request to withdraw or change various reforms. Subsequently, the training of priests and theology studies were again placed under episcopal supervision.

Arco went on numerous visitation trips in his district and tried to educate the people about religion. At the same time, he criticized pious folk customs. He died of a stroke and was buried at the Steinfeldfriedhof in Graz.

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personal data
SURNAME Arco, Joseph Adam of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Arco, Joseph Adam Count of; Arco, Josef Adam
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Königgrätz, Prince-Bishop of Seckau
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1733
PLACE OF BIRTH Salzburg
DATE OF DEATH June 3, 1802
Place of death Graz