Parishes 346 Patron saint Mary | Established 4th Century Area 6,025 km² Auxiliary bishop Otto Georgens | |
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Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2010)1,307,678616,485 (44.5%) Ecclesiastical province Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg | ||
The Diocese of Speyer (lat. Dioecesis Spirensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's see is in the Palatinate city of Speyer.
Contents
The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann. See also Bishop of Speyer for a list of previous bishops.
As of 31 December 2006, 44.5% of the population of the diocese was Catholic.
History
In a slightly different hierarchic structure it is one of the oldest Dioceses in Germany. A bishop of Speyer was first mentioned in a document in 346. Through grants by the Holy Roman Emperor, the prince-bishops of Speyer established themselves as worldly as well as spiritual rulers. The Diocese of Speyer in its current form was established within the borders of the former Rheinkreis, a district of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1817 after the secularization and division of the former bishopric in 1803.
Administration
The diocese is directed by bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann.
The diocese is structured in the following deaneries, with borders that are almost the same as the local county borders: