View source for Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{short description|Latin Catholic jurisdiction in Switzerland}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox diocese
| jurisdiction      = Diocese<!-- Type of jurisdiction: i.e. Diocese or Archdiocese -->
| name              = Chur<!-- Place name(s) of the diocese (or archdiocese) -->
| latin             = Diœcesis Curiensis<!-- Latin name of the diocese (or archdiocese) -->
| local             = Bistum Chur <small>([[German language|de]])</small> <br> Uvestgieu da Cuira <small>([[Romansh language|rm]])</small> <br> Diocesi di Coira <small>([[Italian language|it]])</small><!-- Name in the native language -->
| image             = Chur Kathedrale 1.jpg
| image_size        = frameless
| image_alt         = 
| caption           = [[Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (Chur)|Cathedral of Chur]]
| coat              = Wappen Bistum Chur.png
| coat_size         = 
| coat_alt          = 
<!---- Locations ---->
| country           = [[Switzerland]]
| territory         = [[Graubünden]], [[Schwyz (canton)|Schwyz]], [[Uri (canton)|Uri]], [[Glarus (canton)|Glarus]], [[Obwalden]], [[Nidwalden]], [[Zurich (canton)|Zurich]]
| province          = 
| metropolitan      = Immediately [[Exemption (Catholic canon law)|exempt]] to the [[Holy See]]
| deaneries         = 
| headquarters      = 
| coordinates       = <!-- Use {{coord}} -->
<!---- Statistics ---->
| area_km2          = 12,272<!-- Area in square kilometers, automatically converted -->
| area_sqmi         = <!-- Area in square miles, automatically converted -->
| area_footnotes    = 
| population        = 2,089,107
| population_as_of  = 2022
| catholics         = 677,220
| catholics_percent = 32.4
| parishes          = <!-- Number of parishes in the diocese -->
| churches          = <!-- Number of churches in the diocese -->
| congregations     = <!-- Number of congregations in the diocese -->
| schools           = <!-- Number of church supported schools in the diocese -->
| members           = <!-- Number of members in the diocese -->
<!---- Information ---->
| denomination      = [[Catholic Church]]
| sui_iuris_church  = [[Latin Church]]
| rite              = [[Roman Rite]]
| established       = 5th Century
| dissolved         = 
| cathedral         = [[Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (Chur)|Cathedral of the Assumption]]<!-- Cathedral that serves as the seat of the diocese -->
| cocathedral       = 
| patron            = [[Lucius of Chur|St Lucius of Chur]]
| patron_title      = <!-- Use to override the default label "Patron saint" -->
| priests           = 590<!-- Number of priests in the diocese -->
<!---- Current leadership ---->
| pope              = {{Incumbent pope}}
| bishop            = [[Joseph Maria Bonnemain]]
| bishop_title      = Bishop
| metro_archbishop  = <!-- Name of the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province -->
| coadjutor         = 
| auxiliary_bishops = 
| vicar_general     = [[Martin Grichting, Luis Varandas]]
| episcopal_vicar   = 
| judicial_vicar    = 
| archdeacons       = <!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of first collation); use | archdeacon = for one-->
| emeritus_bishops  = {{unbulleted list|[[Marian Eleganti]]}}
<!---- Map ---->
| map               = Bistum Chur.png
| map_size          = 
| map_alt           = 
| map_caption       = 
<!---- Website ---->
| website           = {{Official website|https://www.bistum-chur.ch/|bistum-chur.ch}}
| footnotes         = 
}}
The '''Diocese of Chur''' ({{langx|la|Diœcesis Curiensis}}) is a [[Latin Church]] ecclesiastical territory or [[diocese]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in [[Switzerland]]. It extends over the [[Cantons of Switzerland|Swiss Cantons]] of [[Graubünden]] (Grisons), [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]], [[Canton of Glarus|Glarus]], [[Canton of Zurich|Zurich]], [[Canton of Nidwalden|Nidwalden]], [[Canton of Obwalden|Obwalden]], and [[Canton of Uri|Uri]].

The modern Catholic diocese must be distinguished from the historical [[Prince-Bishopric of Chur]], a state of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].

==History==
{{see|Churraetia}}
A [[Bishop of Chur]] is first mentioned in 451/ 452 when its Bishop Saint Asimo attended the [[Synod of Milan]],<ref>[[Giovanni Domenico Mansi|Mansi]], ''Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova ...'', Vol. IV, p. 141; {{CathEncy|wstitle=Chur}}</ref> but probably existed a century earlier. The see was at first [[suffragan]] to the Archbishop of [[Milan]], but after the [[Treaty of Verdun]] (843), it became suffragan to [[Electorate of Mainz|Mainz]]. In consequence of political changes it became in 1803 immediately subject to the [[Holy See]].

According to local traditions, the first Bishop of Chur was [[Lucius of Chur|Saint Lucius]], who is said to have died a martyr at Chur around the year 176 and whose relics are preserved in the cathedral. St. Lucius is venerated as the principal patron of the diocese.<ref>G. Mayer, "St. Luzi bei Chur", Lindau, 1876.</ref> The country had to pass through very severe struggles for the Christian faith. [[Theodoric the Great|Theodoric]], King of the Ostrogoths, and the [[Lombards]] after him, attempted to introduce [[Arianism]] in the sixth and seventh centuries.

The bishop soon acquired great temporal powers, especially after his dominions were made in 831 dependent on the Empire alone. In the dispute between [[Emperor Barbarossa]] and [[Pope Alexander III]], Bishop Egino of Chur sided with the emperor and was rewarded with the dignity of [[Prince of the Empire]] in 1170. The bishop was also temporal lord of the city and in several cases, a better warrior than pastor. The [[Prince-Bishopric]] of Chur became an independent state of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], its borders being different from the borders of the diocese. 

In 1367, the [[League of God's House]] was formed by members of the [[cathedral chapter]], the bishop's own [[ministerialis]], the city of [[Chur]], and a number of jurisdictions of the prince-bishopric. The reason was that Bishop Peter Jelito, who mostly stayed abroad, was suspected by his own subjects of planning to sell the prince-bishopric to the [[House of Habsburg]], with a loss of independence looming. Instead, Peter then became Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Leitomischl|Leitomischl]] in 1368 and archbishop of Magdeburg in 1371. In 1392, the next prince-bishop became the nominal head of the League. The [[Grey League]] was founded in 1395, as a reaction to various feuds between the Bishopric of Chur and its own vassals, namely the [[Belmont Castle, Graubünden|Barons of Belmont]], the Barons of [[Vaz/Obervaz|Vaz]], the [[House of Sax|Barons of Sax]], the [[Rhäzüns Castle|Barons of Rhäzüns]], the [[County of Werdenberg|Counts of Werdenberg]], the [[House of Matsch|Barons of Matsch]], the abbots of [[Disentis Abbey]] and others. Both leagues became part of the [[Three Leagues]] that later formed the Swiss canton of [[Graubünden]]. The Three Leagues, in fact a republic ruled by local aristocrats, remained part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1798, but has been allied to the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] since 1497. Both, league and alliance, limited the power of the prince-bishops further. 

The struggles of Switzerland for liberty in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and, later, the secret preaching of [[Zwingli]] and [[John Calvin|Calvin]], did great harm to the diocese, especially as the Catholic clergy neglected the instruction of the people. The bishop lost much of his power through the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] in 1526, after several nobles and towns had become Protestant. The Reformation was publicly proclaimed at Chur in 1524, and the two Catholic churches of St. Martin and St. Regula were given over to the Protestants, who retain possession of them to this day. The bishop fled, and his administrator, Abbot Theodore Schlegel, was publicly beheaded (1 January 1529). Bishop Thomas Planta, a friend of [[St. Charles Borromeo]], tried, but without success, to suppress Protestantism. He died, probably poisoned, 5 May 1565.<ref>See Camenisch, "Carlo Borromeo und die Gegenreform im Veltlin", 1901. {{full citation needed|date=April 2024}}</ref> Twenty years later St. Charles sent the Capuchins into the endangered region, but Bishop Peter II (de Rascher) refused to admit them. His successor, Bishop John V (Flugi d'Aspermont, 1601–27), a saintly and courageous man, endeavoured to restore the Catholic religion, but was compelled to flee three times (1607, 1612, and 1617), and for several years a bloody war was waged between the Catholics and the Protestants. Finally, the newly erected Congregation of Propaganda commissioned the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]] to 'save the Catholic faith' among the people (1621). The first Capuchin superior of the mission was [[St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen]], who, on his way from Sewis to Grüsch, a little north of Chur, was slain (24 April 1622) by peasants whom the sermons of the Protestant preachers had wrought up to a fury. Some relics of this martyr are preserved in the cathedral at Chur. A second mission, that of Misocco and Calanca, in the southern part of the diocese, was entrusted to the Capuchins in 1635. These two missions, [[Rhætiæ]] and [[Mesauci]], were made [[prefectures Apostolic]] under the care of Italian Capuchins and these prefects resided in the towns of [[Vaz/Obervaz|Obervaz]] and [[Cama, Switzerland|Cama]], both in the Canton of [[Graubünden]].

Several holy and extraordinary men have contributed to the splendour of the Diocese of Chur. Four of its bishops are honoured as saints: [[Saint Asimo]] (c. 450), [[Valentine of Chur|Saint Valentinian]] (530–548), [[bishop of Chur|Saint Ursicinus]] (d. 760), and Saint Adalbert(1151–60).<ref name="CE">{{Catholic Encyclopedia|inline=1|wstitle=Chur}}</ref>

[[Saint Sigisbert]] flourished about the year 600, [[Saint Pirminus]] a century later; [[Saint Florian of Chur|Saint Florian]], whom the diocese has chosen as its second patron, lived in the ninth century, the hermit [[Saint Gerold]] in the tenth. The Capuchin [[Theodosius Florentini]], [[vicar-general]] from 1860 till his death (15 February 1865), was a very distinguished missionary; in 1852 he erected the Hospital of the Cross at Chur; before this he had already laid the foundations of two female religious congregations, one for the instruction of children, the other for the care of the sick.

==In 1906==
According to the "Kirchliches Handlexicon" (Munich, 1906) the diocese had a Catholic population of about 248,887 (non-Catholics, 431,367). There were 358 secular and 226 religious priests in charge of about 201 parishes, besides many chaplaincies and mission- stations. The largest Catholic community is at Zürich (43,655). The 35 Capuchins of the prefectures Apostolic had charge of 79 chapels in 1906. Three Benedictine abbeys — [[Einsiedeln Abbey|Einsiedeln]], [[Engelberg Abbey|Engelberg]], and [[Disentis]] — are within the diocese and, with the church of Saint [[Nicholas of Flüe]] at [[Sachseln]], are places of pilgrimage. There was an ecclesiastical seminary in Chur, besides colleges in [[Schwyz]], Disentis, Einsiedeln, Engelberg, [[Sarnen]], and [[Stans]]. The diocese include nine orders of men and ten orders of women ([[Franciscans]], [[Augustinians]], [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]], [[Benedictines]], and others), as well as eleven congregations.

== Separation of the Principality of Liechtenstein from Chur ==
In 1997 the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz|Archdiocese of Vaduz]] was erected by [[Pope John Paul II]] in the [[apostolic constitution]] ''Ad satius consulendum''. Before then it had been the Liechtenstein [[Deanery]] of the Diocese of Chur. The former bishop of Chur, [[Wolfgang Haas]] has been the Archbishop of Vaduz since the founding of the Archdiocese.

==List of bishops==
The known bishops of the diocese are given in the following list.  Either their years in office or death date is given after their names.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bistum-chur.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Churer_Bischofsliste.pdf |title=Die Churer Bischofsliste |website=Bishopric of Chur website |access-date=2017-11-30}}</ref>

[[File:Hof Chur.jpg|thumb|Left: The Episcopal Court at Chur]]
[[File:Hist kirchl Einteilung CH.png|thumb|The historical bishoprics of Switzerland]]
# Asinio (451)
# Valentian (died 548)
# Paulinus (548)
# Theodor (599–603)
# [[Victor I (bishop of Chur)|Viktor I]] (614)
# Paschalis (Last third of 7th century)
# [[Victor II (bishop of Chur)|Viktor II]] (Early 8th century)
# Vigilius (First half 8th century)
# [[Tello (bishop of Chur)|Tello]] (759/60 – 765, began second cathedral)
# Constantius (773/74)
# Remedius (791/96 – 806)
# [[Victor III (bishop of Chur)|Viktor III]] (822/23 – 831)
# Verendar (836–843)
# Esso (849–868)
# Ruodhar (Rothar) (died before 888)
# Diotolf (Theodolf) (888–913)
# Waldo (920–940, died 949)
# Hartbert (951–972)
# Hiltibald (976–988)
# Ulrich I (1006–1024)
# Rupertus (Ruopert) (?)
# Hartmann I (1030–1036, died 1039)
# Dietmar von Montfort (1040–1061, died 1070)
# Heinrich I von Montfort (1070–1078)
# Norbert (1080–1087, died 1088)
# Ulrich II von Tarasp (1087–1095)
# Wido (1096–1122, first Prince-Bishop)
# Konrad I von Biberegg (1123–1142)
# Konrad II (1142–1150)
# [[Adalgott]] (1151–1160)
# Egino von Ehrenfels (1160–1168)
# Ulrich III von Tegerfelden (1170–1179)
# Bruno (1180)
# Heinrich II von Arbon (1180, 1192)
# Arnold I (1199)
# Reinher della Torre (1194–1209)
# Arnold II von Matsch (1209–1221)
# Rudolf I von Güttingen, [[Order of Saint Benedict|OSB]] (1224–1226)
# Berthold von Helfenstein (1228–1233)
# Ulrich IV von Kyburg (1233/34–1237)
# Volkard von Neuburg (1237–1251)
# Heinrich III von Montfort, OP (1251–1272, until 1268 only Bishop Elect)
# Konrad III von Belmont (1273–1282, until 1278 only Bishop Elect)
# Friedrich I von Montfort (1282–1290, until 1287 only Bishop Elect)
# Berthold II von Heiligenberg (1291–1298 only Bishop Elect)
# Siegfried von Gelnhausen (1298–1321)
# Rudolf II von Montfort (1322, 1322–1325 administrator, [[Bishop of Constance]] 1322–1334)
# Johannes I Pfefferhard (1325–1331)
# Ulrich V (Ribi) von Lenzburg, [[Order of Saint Augustine|OESA]] (1331–1355)
# Peter I Wurst (Jelito) (1356–1368, also 1368–1371 [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Leitomischl|Bishop of Leitomischl]], 1371–1381 [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg|Archbishop of Magdeburg]], 1381–1387 [[List of bishops and archbishops of Olomouc|Bishop of Olomouc]])
# Friedrich II von Erdingen (1368–1376, appointed Bishop, also 1376–1396 [[Bishopric of Brixen|Bishop of Brixen]])
# Johannes II (Ministri) von Ehingen (1376–1388, until 1377[?] only Bishop-elect)
# Hartmann II von Werdenberg-Sargans (1388–1416, until 1412[?] only Bishop-elect)
# [[Johannes Ambundii|Johannes III. Ambundii]] (1416–1418, also 1418–1424 [[Archbishopric of Riga|Archbishop of Riga]])
# Johannes IV Naso (Naz) (1418–1440)
# Konrad von Rechberg zu Hohenrechberg (1440–1441 administrator)
# Heinrich IV Freiherr von Hewen (1441–1456 administrator, also 1436–1462 [[Bishop of Constance]])
# Antonio de Tosabeciis (1456 appointed Bishop)
# Leonhard Wismair (1456–1458 only Bishop-elect)
# Ortlieb von Brandis (1458–1491)
# Heinrich V von Hewen (1491–1505)
# Paul Ziegler (1505–1509 administrator)
# Lucius Iter (1542–1549)
# Thomas von Planta (1550–1565, possibly poisoned<ref name="CE"/>)
# Beat à Porta (1565–1581)
# Peter de Raschèr (1581–1601)
# Johann V Flugi von Aspermont (1601–1627)
# Joseph Mohr (1627–1635)
# Johann VI Flugi von Aspermont (1636–1661)
# Ulrich VI de Mont (1661–1692)
# Ulrich VII von Federspiel (1692–1728)
# Joseph Benedikt von Rost (1729–1754)
# Johann Baptist Anton von Federspiel (1755–1777)
# Johann Franz Dionys von Rost (1777–1793)
# [[Karl Rudolf Graf von Buol-Schauenstein|Karl Rudolf von Buol-Schauenstein]] (1794–1833, last Prince-Bishop, also 1824–1833 [[Bishop of St. Gallen]])
# Johann Georg Bossi (1835–1844, also 1835–1836 Bishop of St. Gallen)
# Kaspar de Carl ab Hohenbalken (1844–1859)
# Nikolaus Franz Florentini (1859–1876)
# Kaspar Willi, OSB (1877–1879)
# Franz Konstantin Rampa (1879–1888)
# Johannes Fidelis Battaglia (1889–1908)
# Georgius Schmid von Grüneck (1908–1932)
# Laurenz Matthias Vincenz (1932–1941)
# Christianus Caminada (1941–1962)
# Johannes Vonderach (1962–1990)
# [[Wolfgang Haas]] (1990–1997)
# [[Amédée Grab]], OSB (1998–2007)
# [[Vitus Huonder]] (2007–2019)
# [[Joseph Maria Bonnemain]] (2021–)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.suedostschweiz.ch/aus-dem-leben/2021-02-15/chur-hat-einen-neuen-bischof|title=Chur hat einen neuen Bischof|website=www.suedostschweiz.ch|date=15 February 2021 |accessdate=4 May 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bishop of Chur]]

==References==
{{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Chur}}
{{reflist}}

{{Catholicism in Switzerland}}
{{Authority control}}

{{coord missing|Switzerland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chur, Diocese (Roman Catholic)}}
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Chur|Diocese (Roman Catholic)]]