Diocese of Basel
Basileen(sis)
Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See · Latin Church · Basel, Switzerland
The Diocese of Basel is a Latin Church diocese in Switzerland, with its episcopal seat at the St. Ursus Cathedral in Solothurn. It is an exempt diocese immediately subject to the Holy See, covering ten German- and French-speaking cantons. The bishop since 2010 is Felix Gmür.
The see
- Rank
- Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 740
- Latin
- Basileen(sis)
- Patron
- * santa Verena * san Víctor de Soleura * san Urso de Soleura
- Annuario code
- 001000847
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,010,839
- Population
- 3,462,119
- Catholic share
- 29.2%
- Priests
- 675
- Catholics per priest
- 1,498
- Extent
- 12,585 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 80
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Felix Gmür
- Born
- 7 June 1966
- Birthplace
- Luzern
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
St. Ursus Cathedral stands in Basel, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
History
Basel is the seat of a Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland (German: Bistum Basel; Latin: Diœcesis Basileensis). In earlier centuries its bishops were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (German: Fürstbistum Basel). The diocese today covers the Swiss cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Jura, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, and Zug.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].