The Archdiocese of Vaduz (Latin: Archidioecesis Vaduzensis), which was erected in 1997, is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church which encompasses the entire territory of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Archdiocese of Vaduz Archidioecesis Vaduzensis Erzbistum Vaduz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Liechtenstein |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 160 km2 (62 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2014) 35,89427,279 ( 76%) |
| Parishes | 12[1] |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 2 December 1997 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. Florin |
| Patron saint | Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God |
| Secular priests | 23[1] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Sede Vacante |
| Apostolic Administrator | Benno Elbs |
| Vicar General | Markus Walser |
| Bishops emeritus | Wolfgang Haas |
| Map | |
 Archdiocese of Vaduz (light) | |
| Website | |
| erzbistum-vaduz.li | |
History
editThe Archdiocese of Vaduz was erected by Pope John Paul II in the apostolic constitution Ad satius consulendum on 2 December 1997. Its territory, taken from Swiss Diocese of Chur, consists of the entire Principality of Liechtenstein.[2] Before then it had been the Liechtenstein Deanery within the Diocese of Chur. The Archdiocese of Vaduz does not belong to any conference of bishops and reports directly to the Holy See.
Wolfgang Haas, who had been a controversial bishop of Chur since 1988, was appointed to head the new archdiocese.[3] He took possession on his see on 21 December 1997 in Vaduz Cathedral, which had been the parish church of St. Florian.
Haas resigned from his post on 20 September 2023 due to age limits and Pope Francis appointed Benno Elbs as Apostolic Administrator. There was speculation that with Haas's resignation in 2023 the archdiocese might disappear, given that it was created for him and is extremely small, isolated from national bishops organizations.[4] Hereditary Prince Alois has expressed his hope that the archdiocese continue to exist.[5] Archbishop Paul Gallagher of the Vatican's Secretariat of State indicated during an April 2023 visit to Vaduz that the archdiocese would continue to exist.[6]
Patrons
editThe principal patron of the Archdiocese is the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, under the title of her Nativity (September 8). Additional patrons are the martyr St. Lucius (St. Luzi), also a patron of the diocese of Chur, and St. Florin.
Composition
editThe Archdiocese consists of twelve parishes.
Ordinaries
edit- Wolfgang Haas (2 December 1997 – 20 September 2023)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Archdiocese of Vaduz". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXX. 1998. pp. 8–9.
- ^ Allen, Jr., John L. (8 January 1999). "Haas appointment brings high drama to tiny principality of Liechtenstein". National Catholic Reporter.
- ^ Zbinden, Raphaël (27 October 2022). "L'archidiocèse de Vaduz va-t-il disparaître?". Kath.ch (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
- ^ Mizzy, Sugar (28 December 2022). "Hereditary Prince Alois still wants an Archdiocese of Vaduz". Europe-Cities. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ Pfeifer, Regula. "Gallagher: Erzbistum Vaduz bleibt bestehen" (in German). kath.ch. Retrieved 21 September 2023.