Roman Catholic Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen

Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen

Dioecesis Bauzanensis-Brixinensis

Diözese Bozen-Brixen
Diocesi di Bolzano-Bressanone
Location
CountryItaly
MetropolitanTrento
Statistics
Area7,400 km2 (2,900 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2018)
525,092
501,619 (95.5%)
Parishes281
Information
RiteRoman Rite
Established6th Century
CathedralCattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta e San Cassiano (Brixen)
Co-cathedralDuomo di Santa Maria Assunta (Bolzano)
Secular priests239 (diocesan)
174 (Religious Orders)
29 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopIvo Muser
Map
Website
www.bz-bx.net

The Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen (German: Diözese Bozen-Brixen, Italian: Diocesi di Bolzano-Bressanone, Latin: Dioecesis Bauzanensis-Brixinensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy, with its seat in the city of Bolzano. Its territory corresponds with that of the province of South Tyrol with its predominantly German-speaking population. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Trento.[1][2]

The current configuration of the diocese was created by Pope Paul VI, in a papal bull of 6 August 1964, when the South Tyrolean parts of the archdiocese of Trento around Bolzano and Merano were merged into the Diocese of Brixen. In turn, the Austrian parts of the Brixen diocese around Feldkirch, Vorarlberg were at first allocated to the Apostolic Administration of Innsbruck-Felkirch, that only in 1964 was promoted as a Diocese and separated in two in 1968.[3] [4] The Ladin districts of Fodom (Livinallongo del Col di Lana and Colle Santa Lucia) and Anpez (Cortina d’Ampezzo) passed from Brixen to the Diocese of Belluno. At the same time the episcopal see was moved from Brixen to Bolzano, where the Assumption of Mary parish church was elevated to a co-cathedral, while the chapter remained in Brixen.

The diocesan ordinary (bishop) is Ivo Muser, appointed on 27 July 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.

  1. ^ "Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone {Bozen-Brixen}" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016.[self-published source]
  2. ^ "Diocese of Bolzano–Bressanone" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016.[self-published source]
  3. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 57 (Città del Vaticano 1965), pp. 363–364
  4. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 60 (Città del Vaticano 1968), pp. 782-783