Bishop of Münster
|
Diocese of Münster Dioecesis Monasteriensis Bistum Münster (German) |
|
|---|---|
Diocese of Münster in Germany
|
|
| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| Ecclesiastical province | Cologne |
| Metropolitan | Cologne |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 15,268 km2 (5,895 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2014) 4,333,919 1,953,081 (45.1%) |
| Parishes | 304 |
| Information | |
| Established | 800 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. Paul |
| Secular priests | 1,129 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Felix Genn |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Rainer Maria Woelki |
| Auxiliary Bishops | |
| Emeritus Bishops | |
| Website | |
| bistum-muenster.de | |
The Diocese of Münster is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Bishop Felix Genn is the current Bishop of the Diocese of Münster. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 11, 1976 and was appointed to the See of Münster on December 19, 2008.
As of 31 Dec. 2006, with 4.336 million adherents or 47.1% of local population, nearly half the inhabitants of the Münster diocese were Roman Catholic; due to continuing securalisation, this a decreased percentage compared to earlier periods. Sunday mass attendance reflects this decline over the course of three decades. Per the diocesan website: in 2005, 13.6% Roman Catholics attended Sunday mass; in 2004, this was 14.5%. A decade earlier, in 1995, Sunday mass attendance was about 20% (416,406 churchgoers); in 1985, Sunday mass attendance was 29.3% (614,839 Roman Catholics); and, in 1975, Sunday mass attendance was 35.1% or 787,582 persons. Over a 30-year period, Sunday mass attendance declined over 50%.
As of 18 July 2013, there were 1,129 priests, 296 permanent deacons, and 2,540 religious in the diocese.
The diocese was canonically erected in 800 by Pope Leo III. It lost territory on February 23, 1957 to the newly established Diocese of Essen.
Coordinates: 51°57′47″N 7°37′32″E / 51.96306°N 7.62556°E
...
Wikipedia