Archdiocese of Köln
Colonien(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Köln, Germany
The Archdiocese of Cologne is one of the oldest Latin Church sees in Germany, with origins as a bishopric around 313 and raised to an archdiocese in the early medieval period. It is the metropolitan see of the Cologne province and is led by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki since 2014.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 313
- Latin
- Colonien(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Joseph
- Annuario code
- 001001883
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,738,000
- Population
- 5,522,000
- Catholic share
- 31.5%
- Priests
- 840
- Catholics per priest
- 2,069
- Extent
- 6,181 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 281
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
- Archbishop
- Rainer Woelki
- Born
- 18 August 1956
- Birthplace
- Köln
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
Cologne Cathedral stands in Köln, 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.
The province of Cologne
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of AachenAachen
- Diocese of EssenEssen
- Diocese of LimburgLimburg
- Diocese of MünsterMünster
- Diocese of TrierTrier
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Western North Rhine-Westphalia and the northern Rhineland-Palatinate form the territory of the Archdiocese of Cologne (Latin: Archidioecesis Coloniensis; German: Erzbistum Köln), a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany.
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].