Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel

For the state that ended in 1803, see Prince-Bishopric of Basel.

The Diocese of Basel (German: Bistum Basel; Latin: Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland.

Diocese of Basel Diœcesis Basileensis Bistum Basel
Solothurn Cathedral, the seat of the diocese
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Switzerland
Territory	Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Jura, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, and Zug
Metropolitan	Immediately subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Area	12,585 km2 (4,859 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2022) 3,462,119 1,010,839 (29.2%)
Parishes	483
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	740 (As Diocese of Basel) 7 September 1888 (As Diocese of Basel e Lugano) 8 March 1971 (As Diocese of Basel)
Cathedral	St. Ursus Cathedral, Solothurn
Secular priests	675
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Felix Gmür
Bishops emeritus	Hansjörg Vogel Denis Theurillat Martin Gächter
Map
Map of the modern diocese of Basel within Switzerland
Website
bistum-basel.ch

Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (German: Fürstbistum Basel). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Jura, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, and Zug.

Basel Minster, the Cathedral of the diocese prior to the reformation

Ordinaries

Haller House in Solothurn, residence of the Bishop of Basel

See also: List of Bishops of Basel

The bishops of Basel have not resided in the city of Basel since 1528. Solothurn is the seat of the Bishop.

• Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee (1576–1608)
• Wilhelm Rinck von Balderstein (1609–1628)
• Johann Heinrich von Ostein (1629–1646)
• Beat Albrecht von Ramstein (1646–1651)
• Johann Franz Reichsritter von Schönau (1651–1656)
• Johann Konrad von Roggenbach (1657–1693)
• Wilhelm Jakob Rink von Baldenstein (1693–1705)
• Johann Konrad Reichsfreiherr von Reinach-Hirzbach (1705–1737)
• Jakob Sigismund von Reinach-Steinbrunn (1737–1743)
• Josef Wilhelm Rinck von Baldenstein (1744–1762)
• Simon Nikolaus Euseb Reichsgraf von Montjoye-Hirsingen (1762–1775)
• Friedrich Ludwig Franz Reichsfreiherr von Wangen zu Geroldseck (1775–1782)
• Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach (1782–1792)
• Franz Xaver Freiherr von Neveu (1792–1828)
• Josef Anton Salzmann (1828–1854)
• Karl Arnold-Obrist (1854–1862)
• Eugène Lachat C.Pp.S. (1863–1884)
• Friedrich Xaver Odo Fiala (1885–1888)
• Leonhard Haas (1888–1906)
• Jakobus von Stammler (1906–1925)
• Joseph Ambühl (1925–1936)
• Franz von Streng (1936–1967)
• Anton Hänggi (1967–1982)
• Otto Wüst (1982–1993)
• Hansjörg Vogel (1994–1995)
• Kurt Koch (1995–2010)
• Felix Gmür (2010– )

External links

• Bistum Basel (in German and French)