*** Welcome to piglix ***

Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen

Diocese of Aachen
Dioecesis Aquisgranensis
Bistum Aachen
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Aachen
Coat of arms
Location
Country Germany
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cologne
Coordinates 51°19′55″N 6°33′34″E / 51.331952°N 6.559439°E / 51.331952; 6.559439Coordinates: 51°19′55″N 6°33′34″E / 51.331952°N 6.559439°E / 51.331952; 6.559439
Statistics
Area 3,937 km2 (1,520 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2012)
2,028,699
1,110,948 (54.8%)
Parishes 538
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Roman Rite
Established 1802 (re-established 13 August 1930)
Cathedral Aachen Cathedral
Patron saint Mary, Mother of Jesus
Secular priests 535
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Helmut Dieser
Metropolitan Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki
Auxiliary Bishops Johannes Bündgens,
Karl Borsch
Vicar General Andreas Frick
Emeritus Bishops Gerd Dicke
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1970–2003)
Karl Reger
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1987–2006)
Heinrich Mussinghoff
Bishop Emeritus (1994–2015)
Map
Location of the Diocese of Aachen
Location of the Diocese of Aachen

The Diocese of Aachen is one of 27 dioceses in Germany and one of the six dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cologne. The incumbent bishop is Helmut Dieser, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 23 September 2016. The bishop's seat is Aachen.

The diocese is located in the very west of Germany, extending from Krefeld in the north to the mountainous Eifel area in the south. Bordering dioceses are Cologne, Münster, Essen and Trier in Germany, Liège in Belgium and Roermond in the Netherlands.

The diocese is divided into seven regions which are in turn further subdivided into 538 parishesː

The bishop emeritus of Aachen is Heinrich Mussinghoff. There are two auxiliary bishops, Johannes Bündgens and Karl Borsch. Also, there are two emeritus auxiliary bishops, Gerd Dicke and Karl Reger. The vicar general is Andreas Frick.

Historically, today's territory of the Diocese of Aachen belonged to the Diocese of Liège and the Archdiocese of Cologne. The diocese was first created in 1802, covering the area west of the Rhine formerly belonging to Cologne, as well as parts from the dioceses Liège, Utrecht, Roermond and Mainz. After the first bishop Marc Antoine Berdolet died in 1809, Pope Pius VII disapproved of the successor suggested by Napoleon, Jean Denis François Camus. After the French rulership over the area, the diocese was abolished by the bull De salute animarum of July 16, 1821, and incorporated into the archdiocese of Cologne.


...
Wikipedia

...