Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz

Archdiocese of Vaduz Archidioecesis Vaduzensis Erzbistum Vaduz
Cathedral of St. Florin
Location
Country	Liechtenstein
Coordinates	47°08′41″N9°31′24″E / 47.1448°N 9.5232°E / 47.1448; 9.5232
Statistics
Area	160 km2 (62 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2014) 35,894 27,279 (76%)
Parishes	12 [1]
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	2 December 1997
Cathedral	Cathedral of St. Florin
Patron saint	Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God
Secular priests	23 [1]
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Sede Vacante
Apostolic Administrator	Benno Elbs
Vicar General	Markus Walser
Bishops emeritus	Wolfgang Haas
Map
Archdiocese of Vaduz (light)
Website
erzbistum-vaduz.li

The Archdiocese of Vaduz (Latin : Archidioecesis Vaduzensis), which was erected in 1997, is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church which encompasses the entire territory of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

History

The Archdiocese of Vaduz was erected by Pope John Paul II in the apostolic constitution Ad satius consulendum on 2 December 1997. Its territory, taken from Swiss Diocese of Chur, consists of the entire Principality of Liechtenstein. ^[2] Before then it had been the Liechtenstein Deanery within the Diocese of Chur. The Archdiocese of Vaduz does not belong to any conference of bishops and reports directly to the Holy See.

Wolfgang Haas, who had been a controversial bishop of Chur since 1988, was appointed to head the new archdiocese. ^[3] He took possession on his see on 21 December 1997 in Vaduz Cathedral, which had been the parish church of St. Florian.

Haas resigned from his post on 20 September 2023 due to age limits and Pope Francis appointed Benno Elbs as Apostolic Administrator. There was speculation that with Haas's resignation in 2023 the archdiocese might disappear, given that it was created for him and is extremely small, isolated from national bishops organizations. ^[4] Hereditary Prince Alois has expressed his hope that the archdiocese continue to exist. ^[5] Archbishop Paul Gallagher of the Vatican's Secretariat of State indicated during an April 2023 visit to Vaduz that the archdiocese would continue to exist. ^[6]

Patrons

The principal patron of the Archdiocese is the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, under the title of her Nativity (September 8). Additional patrons are the martyr St. Lucius (St. Luzi), also a patron of the diocese of Chur, and St. Florin.

Composition

The Archdiocese consists of twelve parishes.

Ordinaries

• Wolfgang Haas (2 December 1997 – 20 September 2023)

See also

• Religion in Liechtenstein
• Catholic Church in Liechtenstein

References

1. "Archdiocese of Vaduz". Catholic-Hierarchy. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
2. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXX. 1998. pp. 8–9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
3. Allen, Jr., John L. (8 January 1999). "Haas appointment brings high drama to tiny principality of Liechtenstein". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
4. Zbinden, Raphaël (27 October 2022). "L'archidiocèse de Vaduz va-t-il disparaître?". Kath.ch (in French). Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
5. Mizzy, Sugar (28 December 2022). "Hereditary Prince Alois still wants an Archdiocese of Vaduz". Europe-Cities. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
6. Pfeifer, Regula. "Gallagher: Erzbistum Vaduz bleibt bestehen" (in German). kath.ch. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.

External links

• (in German) Official website
• Statistics relating to the Archdiocese of Vaduz