Diocese of Passau Diœcesis Passaviensis Bistum Passau | |
|---|---|
 St. Stephan's Cathedral, Passau | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| Ecclesiastical province | Munich and Freising |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,442 km2 (2,101 sq mi) |
Population
|
|
| Parishes | 285 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 737 |
| Cathedral | St. Stephan's Cathedral |
| Patron saint | St. Conrad of Parzham St. Maximilian of Celeia St. Valentine |
| Secular priests | 275 (diocesan) 65 (Religious Orders) 46 Permanent Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Stefan Oster |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Reinhard Marx |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| bistum-passau.de | |
TheDiocese of Passau (Latin:Diœcesis Passaviensis;German:Bistum Passau) is aLatindiocese of theCatholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of theArchdiocese of Munich and Freising.[1][2] The Prince-Bishopric of Passau was an ecclesiastical principality that existed for centuries until it wassecularized in 1803. The diocese covers an area of 5,442 km².
The Diocese of Passau may be considered the successor of the ancientDiocese of Lorch (Laureacum). AtLorch, a Roman station and an important stronghold at the confluence of the riversEnns andDanube, Christianity found a foothold in the third century, during a period of Roman domination, and a Bishop of Lorch certainly existed in the fourth. The letter ofPope Symmachus (498–514) to Archbishop Theodore of Lorch is a forgery of Bishop Pilgrim.[3] During the great migrations, Christianity on the Danube was completely rooted out, and the Celtic and Roman population was annihilated or enslaved.
In the region between the riversLech and Enns, the wanderingBaiuvarii were converted to Christianity in the seventh century, while theAvari, to the east, remained pagan. The ecclesiastical organization of Bavaria was brought about in 739 by the papal legateSt. Boniface, who, with the support of Duke Odilo or at least enacting an earlier design of the duke,[4] erected the four sees ofFreising,Ratisbon, Passau, andSalzburg.[5] He confirmed as incumbent of Passau, BishopVivilo, or Vivolus, who had been ordained in Rome byPope Gregory III (731-741). From that time, Vivilo resided permanently atPassau, on the site of the old Roman colony ofBatavis. Here there existed a church established by a founder now unknown, which was dedicated to St. Stephen. Bishop Vivilo's diocese received by annexation the ancient Lorch, which meanwhile had become a small place of little importance. Thanks to the duke, a cathedral was soon erected near the Passau church of St. Stephen, and there the bishop lived in common with his clergy.
The ecclesiastical province of Bavaria was created on 20 April 798, at the request of Charlemagne.Pope Leo III named Salzburg its metropolitan archdiocese, assigning as its suffragan dioceses Passau, Ratisbon, Freising, Säben-Brixen, and Neuburg and sending Bishop Arno of Salzburg thepallium.[6] The diocese of Passau was subject to Salzburg until 1728; from 1728 until 1817 it was directly subject to theHoly See (Papacy); from 1826, it became subject to the archdiocese of Munich-Freising.[7]
The boundaries of the Passau diocese extended westwards to the riverIsar, and eastwards to the Enns. In ecclesiastical affairs Passau was probably, from the beginning, suffragan to Salzburg. Through the favour of Dukes Odilo andTassilo, the diocese received many grants and endowments, and several monasteries were established, includingNiederaltaich Abbey,Niedernburg Abbey,Mattsee Abbey,Kremsmünster Abbey, these being richly endowed over time. In the late 8th century came the conquest of the Avari, who had assisted the rebellious Duke Tassilo. Subsequently, under Bishop Waltreich (774–804), the district between the Enns and theRaab was added to the diocese, which thus included the whole eastern part (Ostmark) of Southern Bavaria and part of what is now Hungary.
Pope Eugenius II (824–827) was said to have sent a letter to four bishops in Moravia and Hungary (Pannonia), informing them that he had created Bishop Urolfus of Passau an archbishop, and made him metropolitan of an ecclesiastical province, which included the dioceses of Favianensis, Speculiiuliensis (also known as Ouguturensis), Nitravensis, and Vetuarensis.[8] Only two of the diocesan names are known. The document, however, is a forgery.[9] It was invented by Bishop Pilgrim, to advance his claim that the diocese of Passau was the successor of the (arch)diocese of Lorch, and was entitled to thepallium.[10] Neither the German kings nor the popes ever acknowledged validity of the claim.[11]
On 24 September 860, at the request of Bishop Hartwig of Passau,King Louis II granted a number ofmansiones to Hartwig'schorepiscopus[12] Alberic.[13] But in May 864,[14]Pope Nicholas I, writing to King Louis, noted that Bishop Hartwig of Passau had been paralysed for the previous four years (abhinc quattuor annos), but that he could not simply be deposed or set aside; he could, however, resign the diocese, if he were able to execute the proper documents.[15]
The first missionaries to the pagan Hungarians went out from Passau, and in 866 the Church sent missionaries toBulgaria.[16]
Before the spring 873, a three year long struggle on the part of several German bishops attempted to unseat Bishop Methodius, the "Apostle to the Slavs."[17]Pope John VIII (872–882) wrote to his legate in Germany and Pannonia, Bishop Paul of Ancona, ordering him to adviseKing Louis that Pannonia was directly subject to the Holy See (Papacy), and that he should inform Archbishop Alvinus of Salzburg and Bishop Ermericus of Passau that if they should deprive Bishop Methodius of his sacred ministry, the pope would do the same to them.[18] Ermericus captured Methodius, kept him in prison during the bitter winter, held a meeting of bishops, and would have had Methodius beaten in public, were it not for the intervention of others. Pope John suspended Emericus, and summoned him, along with Bishop Paul and Bishop Methodius, to Rome for trial.[19] He died on 2 January 874.[20]
The Magyars made their first incursions into northern Italy in 899; in 900, they made their first raids into Bavaria.[21] In July 900, Archbishop Dietmar of Salzburg, Bishops Waldo of Frising, Erchanbald of Eichstatt, Zacharias of Säben-Brixen, Tuto of Ratisbon, and Richarius of Passau, sent a letter of complaint toPope John IX.[22] They wrote that three bishops had come into the diocese of Passau from Moravia, Archbishop John and Bishops Benedict and Daniel, and had consecrated an archbishop and three bishops without the knowledge of the archbishop of Salzburg or the consent of the bishop of Passau. They reminded the pope of the good deeds of the kings of the Franks toward his predecessors; they refuted the charges of the Slavs; and they advised the pope not to believe the lies that they were telling about the Bavarian bishops.[23][24]
Passau, the outermost eastern bulwark of the Germans, suffered most from the incursions of the Hungarians. At that time many churches and monasteries were destroyed. The canons of Passau suffered especially great losses. On 12 August 903, therefore, at the request of Counts Arbo and Engilmar, vassals of the Church of Passau, and with the consent of Bishop Burchard,King Louis IV agreed to the transfer ofloca in Innveiertel, along with theirdecima and other appurtenances, which had previously been given as benefices by the bishop, to the power of the canons.[25] This is the earliest clear mention of the canons of Passau as a single body.[26] Additional invasions by Hungarians, usually damaging Passau, occurred in the incursion into Alemannia in 915 and 917, when Basel was destroyed and Alsace devastated; 921, centered on Thuringia and Saxony; 924, in which Franconia suffered; 925 in which Bavaria and Alemannia were attacked; and 926, when incursions reached Gallia.[27]
When, after the victory theBattle of Lechfeld, the Germans pressed forward and regained the old Ostmark, Bishop Adalbert (946-971) hoped to extend his spiritual jurisdiction over Hungary. He was present at the Council of Ingelheim in 948, and his title is given as "bishop", not "archbishop."[28]
His successor, BishopPiligrim (971-991), who worked successfully for the Christianization ofPannonia, aspired to free Passau from the metropolitan authority of Salzburg, but was completely frustrated in this, as well as in his attempt to assert the metropolitan claims which Passau was supposed to have inherited from Lorch, and to include all Hungary in his diocese. By founding many monasteries in his diocese he prepared the way for the princely power of later bishops. He also built many new churches and restored others from ruins.[29]
His successor, Christian (991-1002) received in 999 fromEmperor Otto III the market privilege and the rights of coinage, taxation, and higher and lower jurisdiction.[30] Bishop Christian attended the diet of Frankfurt in 1007, at which the decision was taken to establish the diocese of Bamberg, and in 1012 he participated in the consecration of its new cathedral.[31] TheEmperor Henry II granted him a large part of the North Forest. Henceforward, indeed, the bishops ruled as princes of the empire, although the title was used for the first time only in a document in 1193. Under Berengar (1013–1045) the whole district east of the Viennese forest as far as Letha and March was placed under the jurisdiction of Passau. During his time the cathedral chapter made its appearance, but there is little information concerning its beginning as a distinct corporation with the right of electing a bishop. This right was much hampered by the exercise of imperial influence.
At the beginning of theInvestiture Controversy,Bishop Altmann occupied the see (1065–1091) and was one of the few German bishops who adhered toPope Gregory VII. He served as papal legate of Pope Gregory.[32] In 1175, he held a council in Passau, in which he had Pope Gregory's synodical letters of 1074 and 1075 read to the assembly; they mandated clerical celibacy. There was difficulty in enforcing the mandate, and Altmann wrote to the pope, who replied that if one of the clergy complied, he could be restored to his position, but if one refused, he was to be cut off completely.[33] In 1080, Pope Gregory deposed Bishop Otto of Konstanz in the Roman synod of Lent, and ordered Bishop Altmann to travel to Konstanz and supervise the election of a proper bishop.[34] In 1081, he commissioned Altmann to win back the archbishop of Salzburg and the other bishops who had gone over toKing Henry IV, and that he should receive fraternally those who returned to papal obedience, in particular Bishop Benno ofOsnabrück.[35] In Easter Week 1085, Altmann attended a synod of bishops at Quindlenburg, presided over by the cardinal bishop of Ostia, in which Wezilo of Mainz; two weeks later, Wezilo and nineteen other schismatic bishops held a meeting at Mainz, and excommunicated fifteen bishops who were loyal to Gregory VII, including Altmann of Passau. Bishop Altmann was driven out of his diocese by his own clergy, who preferred King Henry and hisAntipope Clement III. He was replaced by the schismatic Hermann, brother of DukeLiutold of Eppenstein of Carinthia.[36]
Bishop Ulrich (1092–1121) was present at the synod held byPope Urban II at Piacenza from 1–7 March 1095.[37] He was for a time driven from his see byEmperor Henry IV,[38] promoted monastic reforms and supported the Crusades. Reginmar (1121–1138), Reginbert, Count of Hegenau (1136–1147) who took part in the crusade ofConrad III, andConrad of Austria (1149–1164), a brother of BishopOtto of Freising, were all interested in the foundation of new monasteries and the reform for those already existing. Bishop Conrad attended the diet of Ratisbon on 17 September 1156, and witnessed theprivilegium of the EmperorFrederick Barbarossa, in which he elevated the Ostmark of Austria into a duchy.[39]
BishopDiepold of Berg went on theThird Crusade withFrederick Barbarossa in 1189, accompanied by the dean of the cathedral,Tageno,[40] whose diary contributed to later authors. Diepold died in Antioch on 3 November 1190, probably of some plague.[41]
Bishop Ulrich (1215–1221), was formally recognized as a prince of the empire at theReichstag of Nuremberg in January 1217.[42] The reforms which were begun by bishops Gebhard von Plaien (1221–1232) and Rüdiger von Rodeck (1233–1250) found a zealous promoter in Otto von Lonsdorf (1254–1265), one of the greatest bishops of Passau. He took stringent measures against the relaxed monasteries, introduced theFranciscans andDominicans into his diocese, promoted the arts and sciences, and collected the old documents which had survived the storms of the preceding period, so that to him we owe almost all our knowledge of the early history of Passau.[43] Bishop Peter, formerly Canon of Breslau, contributed to theHouse of Habsburg by bestowing episcopal fiefs on the sons of King Rudolph.
Cardinal Guido di Borgogna (Guy de Bourgogne), as papal legate, held a council in Vienna on 10 May 1267, attended, among many others, by Bishop Peter of Passau.[44]
It was during this period that theFürstenzell Abbey was founded, in 1274.
Bishop Godefrid presided over a diocesan synod, held at St. Pölten on 19 March 1284.[45] Bishop Bernhard of Prambach held a diocesan synod in Passau in June 1293.[46]
Under Bernhard of Brambach (1285–1313), Passau started striving to become a free imperial city. After an uprising in May 1298, the bishop granted the burghers, in the municipal ordinance of 1299, privileges in conformity with what was called theBernhardine Charter. The cathedral having been burned down in 1281, he built a new cathedral which lasted until 1662. Bishop Bernhard died on 27 July 1313.[47]
The cathedral Chapter met as usual to select a successor, but the result was disorder. Two factions selected two different candidates, the larger part chose Canon Gebehard Walse, the minority Canon Albertus, the son of the King of the Romans. Gebehard went to Avignon, to lodge an appeal withPope Clement V, who died on 20 April 1314 before the matter was resolved; Gebehard too died before a new pope was elected.Pope John XXII rejected Albert, who was under age and not in holy orders. He then, on 3 June 1317, appointedHenri of Vienne, the brother ofJean, the Dauphin of Viennois, who was also under age and not in holy orders.[48] In fact, in April 1313, Pope Clement had granted Henri a license for seven years to study civil law, with the provision that he reside in one of his benefices. Then, on 6 September 1316, Pope John had written to the bishop of Grenoble that Henri wanted to resign all his benefices, and that the bishop should accept his resignations.[49] Documents indicate that there was no bishop seated in Passau in 1317–1320, and that episcopal functions were being carried out by the bishop of Frising.[50] Finally, Pope John XXII appointed Albert of Saxony to the diocese of Passau, on 14 June 1320, though he was only in minor orders, and rector of the parish of Vienna. On 22 June 1320 he was given the privilege of having all his ordinations carried out on the same day, by a bishop of his own choosing.[51] He was ordained a subdeacon in Vienna, and ordained and consecrated in Salzburg by the archbishop in September 1321.[52]
Bishop Albert von Winkel (1363–1380) was particularly active in the struggle with the burghers and in resisting the robber-knights. TheBlack Death visited the bishopric under Gottfried II von Weitzenbeck (1342–1362).
Bishop George von Hohenlohe (1388–1421) participated in the coronation of KingSigismund of Germany on 8 November 1414 at Aachen;[53] from which he proceeded immediately to theCouncil of Konstanz, which he attended throughout its sitting, as a close advisor of King Sigismund. He recognizedPope John XXIII, and promoted an expedition against KingLadislaus of Naples.[54] Pope John XXIII granted Bishop George a bull on 1 February 1415, in which he released Passau from all metropolitan subjection to the archbishop of Salzburg, as well as from their control as papal legates, and granted the bishops of Passau the right to use thepallium.[55] After 1418, he was imperial chancellor,[56] energetically opposed theHussites.
At the request of the archbishop of Salzburg,Pope Martin V issued a papal bull on 6 August 1418, "intenta Semper", in which he cancelled the arrangements made by John XXIII with respect to Passau. Passau's archiepiscopal status was removed, and the bishops no longer received the pallium.[57]
During the time of Bishop Ulrich von Nussdorf (1451–1479) the diocese suffered its first great curtailment. At the request of theEmperor Frederick III, theDiocese of Vienna was established byPope Paul II on 18 January 1469, out of territory taken from theDiocese of Passau.[58] This diocese was afterwards further enlarged at the expense of Passau byPope Sixtus IV. Towards the close of the fifteenth century the conflict between an Austrian candidate for the see and a Bavarian brought about a state of war in the diocese.
On 1 July 1478, at the request of the Emperor Frederick, Pope Sixtus IV issued the bull "Super Universas", in which he granted the emperor the right to name the next bishop of Passau on the death of Bishop Ulrich.[59] The emperor conveyed the contents of the bull to the Provost, Dean, and Chapter of Passau, in a letter of 25 October 1478, with the warning that they faced excommunication and loss of imperially granted privileges if they transgressed the terms of the papal bull or the imperial rights.[60]
Bishop Ulrich died on 2 September 1479, and in October, claiming that they had received no notice of the Emperor's candidate, they proceeded to their usual and customary election.[61] The name of Canon Frederick Maurkircher was put forward byGeorge, Duke of Bavaria, the son of DukeLouis IX. Maurenkircher was a Doctor of Law and Chancellor of the duchy.[62] In a contentious electoral process, he was supported by Bishop Albertus of Salona, the auxiliary bishop of Passau; and by the Dean of the Chapter, and by six other canons; they were joined by the dean of the collegiate church of Mautern, the abbot of Aspach, the provost of the collegiate church of S. Nicholas, and by two vicars of the cathedral.[63] The emperor's nominee was George Hasler, who had studied at the University of Vienna and been a follower of the Franciscan inquisitor,John of Capistrano. Hasler had gone to Rome following his studies, where he became aprotonotary apostolic, and then a priest in the papal entourage.[64] He returned to Germany, where he served as the emperor's secretary and councillor for more than ten years. In 1477, he was named a cardinal by Sixtus IV, over the objections of the College of Cardinals.[65] The electors at Passau, in a letter to the pope, claimed that the emperor had not nominated his candidate within a reasonable time, but, in a decree of 28 January 1479, Pope Sixtus rejected their claim on grounds of canon law, which provided for as much as a six-month interval between death of an incumbent and nomination of a successor.[66] Furthermore, their claim was beside the point, since they had violated the papal prohibition of an election. Sixtus therefore voided the election of Canon Frederick Maurenkircher, and threatened him with excommunication if he should persist in his claims and pretensions.[67] On the same day, 28 January 1479, the pope provided (appointed) Cardinal George Hasler bishop of Passau.[68]
Bishop Hasler was not welcomed in Passau.[69] On 13 December 1480, Pope Sixtus issued an excommunication against Michael Loehmer, Commissary of the diocese of Passau, because he and his associates refused to turn over the property of the diocese to Cardinal Hasler, and tore down and defiled papal bulls and letters from the doors of the church in Vienna.[70] On 8 January 1481, Pope Sixtus admonished Dukes Albert and George of Bavaria not to give aid and comfort to the enemies of Cardinal George Hasler who had already been excommuinicated by the pope.[71] On 15 January 1481, Pope Sixtus provided faculties and orders to his nuncio in Germany, Bishop Orso Orsini of Theano, to cite the auxiliary bishop Albertus, Canon Frederick, and the other canons of Passau, to appear at the papal court and purge themselves of suspicion of heresy.[72]
Cardinal Hasler died on 21 September 1482; his body was taken to Vienna, where he was buried in the church of S. Maria Stiegen.[73] On 30 October 1482,Pope Sixtus IV appointed Bishop-elect Friedrich Maurenkircher to the bishopric of Passau.[74]
TheProtestant Reformation was kept out of all the Bavarian part of the diocese, except theCountship of Ortenburg, by the efforts ofErnest of Bavaria who, though never consecrated, ruled the diocese from 1517 to 1541. Lutheranism found many adherents, however, in the Austrian portion. Bishops Wolfgang von Salm (1540–1555) and Urban von Trennbach (1561–1598) led thecounter-Reformation. Under Bishop Wolfgang thePeace of Passau was concluded, in the summer of 1552.[75] The last Bavarian prince-bishop was Urban, who in his struggles during the Reformation received substantial aid for the Austrian part of the diocese fromAlbert V, Duke of Bavaria, and, after 1576, fromEmperor Rudolf II. All the successors of Urban were Austrians. Bishop-elect Leopold Ferdinand of Austria (1598–1625) (who also held thediocese of Strasburg after 1607) was one of the first to enter theCatholic League of 1609. In theThirty Years' War he was loyal to his brother,Emperor Ferdinand II.Leopold II Wilhelm (1625–1662), son of Ferdinand II, a pious prince and a great benefactor of the City of Passau, especially after the great conflagration of 1662, finally united five bishoprics.
BishopWenzelaus von Thun (1664–1673) began the newcathedral which was completed thirty years later by his successor CardinalJohn Philip von Lamberg. Bishop John Philip was named a cardinal byPope Innocent XII on 21 June 1700.[76] His nephew and successor, BishopJoseph Dominicus von Lamberg (1723–1762), was appointed a cardinal byPope Clement XII on 20 December 1737.[77] They were brother and son toFranz Joseph I, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg, and both cardinals served as diplomats for the Austrian court.
In November 1719, theEmperor Charles VI wrote toPope Clement XI, requesting that he elevate the bishopric of Vienna to the rank of metropolitan see. The pope referred the proposal to the Consistorial Congregation, which reported favorably on 6 March 1721. Before the bulls could be prepared for signature, however, the pope died, on 19 March. The new pope,Innocent XIII, issued the bulls on 1 June 1722, and named Sigismund von Kollonitz to the archbishopric.[78] When Vienna was raised to an archdiocese in 1722, Bishop Raymond von Rabatta relinquished the parishes beyond the Viennese Forest, but in compensation the diocese of Passau was exempted from the metropolitan authority of Salzburg, and became a metropolitan diocese itself, directly dependent upon the Holy See (Papacy); the bishop obtained the pallium for himself and his successors.[79] ArchbishopLeopold Ernst von Firmian (1763–1783), created cardinal byPope Clement XIV on 14 December 1772,[80] established an institute of theology at Passau, and, after thesuppression of the Jesuits in 1773,[81] founded a lyceum.
Under Archbishop Joseph von Auersperg (1783–1795), theEmperor Joseph II took away two-thirds of the diocese to form the dioceses ofLinz andSt. Pölten and to enlarge for the last time the archdiocese of Vienna.Pope Pius VI issued the bull "Romanus Pontifex" on 28 January 1784, establishing the diocese of Linz.[82] On the same day, the pope issued another bull, "Inter plurimas," in which he established the diocese of St. Pölten, also partially on territory which had been part of the diocese of Passau.[83]
The last prince-bishop, Leopold von Thun (1796–1826), saw the secularization of the old bishopric in 1803;[84] the City of Passau and the temporalities on the left bank of theInn and the right bank of theIlz went to Bavaria, while the territory on the left banks of the Danube and of the Ilz went toFerdinand III of Habsburg-Lorraine, the formerGrand Duke of Tuscany, becoming part of theElectorate of Salzburg and afterwards to Austria. On 22 February 1803, when the Bavarians marched into Passau, the prince-bishop withdrew to his estates inBohemia, and never revisited his former residence.[85]
After the abdication ofNapoleon (1815),Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria was confirmed as king of Bavaria by theCongress of Vienna, and as a member of theFederative Constitution of Germany, on 8 June 1815. There were adjustments in boundaries, the most significant being the transfer of Salzburg from Bavaria to Austria. New boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses, therefore, had to be negotiated. A concordat between Bavaria and the Papacy was negotiated by CardinalErcole Consalvi and BaronJohann Casimir Häffelin, and signed on 5 June 1817.[86] The diocese of Freising was suppressed and its territory incorporated into the diocese of Munich.[87] Article IX granted the kings of Bavaria in perpetuity the right to nominate candidates to all the vacant archbishoprics and bishoprics in the kingdom, subject to papal approval.[88]
On 1 April 1818,Pope Pius VII issued the bull "Dei ac Domini", in which he put into effect canonically the changes agreed to in the Concordat with Bavaria.[89] He began by abolishing the ecclesiastical province of Ratisbon, with all the dioceses within it, including Passau, and the Provostship of Berchtesgaden.[90] When the diocese was reconstituted, it contained, in addition to the city of Passau, 136 parishes, which are listed in the papal bull.[91] The Chapter of the cathedral of S. Stephen in Passau was to consist of two dignities, the Provost and the Dean, and eight canons, four major and four minor.[92] This was a reduction from the 23 canonries which had existed in the 18th century.[93]
Passau was made directly subject to the Holy See until the death of the last prince-archbishop, Leopold von Thun, which took place on 22 October 1826. Thereafter, the diocese became a suffragan of Munich-Freising.[94]
Pope Benedict XVI was born and baptized onHoly Saturday, 16 April 1927, atMarktl am Inn, which is located within the Diocese of Passau.
Theauxiliary bishops of Passau are listed and annotated on a separate page.
| No. | Name | from | to | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valentin of Raetia | ? | 475 | ||
| Vivilo[95] | 739 | 745?[96] | Vivilo was consecrated a bishop byPope Gregory III (731–741).[97] | |
| Beatus | ? | 753/754 | Beatus is known only from a versified episcopal list.[98] | |
| 1 | Sidonius | 753[99] | 756 | Nothing is known of his tenure as bishop. His dates are conjectural. |
| Anthelm[100] | ? | ? | Third[101] or fourth bishop, Anthelmus' name appears in a versified episcopal list.[102] | |
| 2 | Wisurich | 770 | 777 | Bishop Wisurich[103] witnessed a donation on 26 September 770;[104] Wiserichus attended a synod of 6 bishops and 13 abbots at Dingolfing on 14 October 772.[105] |
| 3 | Waldrich[106] | 777 | 804/805 | Leo III wrote to Waldrich on 20 April 798.[107] He was present at a synod of bishops at Reisbach on 20 January 799.[108] |
| 4 | Urolf | 804/805 | 806 | The purported letter ofPope Eugenius II, mentioning Urolfus' pallium and his possession of Pannonia and Moesia, is a forgery of Bishop Pilgrim.[109] |
| 5 | Hatto | 806 | 817 | |
| 6 | Reginhar | 818 | 838 | |
| Vacancy | 838 | 840 | ||
| 7 | Hartwig | 840 | 866 | |
| 8 | Ermanrich | 866 | 874 | |
| 9 | Engelmar | 875 | 897 | |
| 10 | Wiching | 898 | 899 | |
| 11 | Richarius[110] | 899 | 902 | Richarius, Rihharius,[111] Richar. He is said to have presided over the diocese for three years, and died before August 903, when Burkhard was already bishop.[112] |
| 12 | Burkhard | 903 | 915 | |
| 13 | Gumpold | 915 | 932 | |
| 14 | Gerhard | 932 | 946 | The purported bull ofPope Agapetus II, confirming thepallium and metropolitan status of Passau, is a forgery.[113] |
| 15 | Adalbert | 946 | 970/971 | |
| 16 | Piligrim[114] | 971 | 991 | a member of theSieghardinger dynasty. Pilgrim was a notorious forger of early documents of Passau.[115] |
| 17 | Christian | 991 | 1013 | First bishop with secular authority |
| 18 | Berengar | 1013 | 1045 | |
| 19 | Egilbert | 1045 | 1065 | Engelbert |
| 20 | Altmann[116] | 1065 | 1091 | |
| —— | Hermann von Eppenstein | 1085 | 1087 | Intrusus. Schismatic counter-bishop ofHenry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, brother of DukeLiutold of Eppenstein of Carinthia. He died in 1087.[117] |
| 21 | Ulrich | 1092 | 1121 | Ulrich I. |
| 22 | Reginmar | 1121 | 1138 | |
| 23 | Reginbert of Hagenau | 1138 | 1148[118] | |
| 24 | Conrad of Babenberg | 1148/1149 | 1164 | Son ofLeopold III, Margrave of Austria andAgnes von Waiblingen;Archbishop of Salzburg (September 1164–28 September 1168)[119] |
| 25 | Rupert[120] | 1164 | 1165 | Rupert supported the schism ofAntipope Paschal III. He was dead by November 1165.[121] |
| Albo[122] | 1165 | 1168 | Elected on 11 November 1165. Expelled from Passau in 1168 for supporting the pope against the emperor, he was replaced by Albert, the son of the King of Bohemia.[123] | |
| Henry of Berg | 1169 | 1172 | resigned, laterBishop of Würzburg from 1191 until his death in 1197 | |
| 26 | Diepold of Berg | 1172 | 1190 | (Theobald). With permission ofPope Alexander III, Dietpold was consecrated on 23 September 1172 in Passau.[124] He died in Antioch, after the interment ofFrederick Barbarossa, on 3 November 1190.[125] |
| 27 | Wolfger of Erla[126] | 1191[127] | 1204 | Wolfger was appointedPatriarch of Aquileia byPope Innocent III on 24 June 1204.[128] |
| No. | Name | from | to | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Poppo | 1204 | 1205 | Cathedral provost ofAquileia. Poppo succeeded Wolfker, who was transferred to Aquileia byPope Innocent III on 24 June 1204; he served from 15 October 1204, and died on 26 December 1205.[129] |
| 29 | Manegold of Berg[130] | 1206 | 1215 | M. died on 9 June 1215.[131] |
| 30 | Ulrich | 1215 | 1221 | |
| 31 | Gebhard von Plain | 1222 | 1232 | |
| 32 | Rüdiger of Bergheim[132] | 1233 | 1250 | Bishop of Chiemsee 1216–1233; excommunicated and deposed byPope Innocent IV in 1250. |
| — | Konrad[133] | 1248 | 1249 | Uncanonically elected in summer 1248, but never confirmed by pope.[134] Called himselfElectus Pataviensis in 1249.[135] |
| 34 | Berthold of Pietengau | 1250 | 1254 | B. was appointed by the papal legate, Cardinal Petrus de Collemedio, Bishop of Albano, and approved byPope Innocent IV on 1 October 1250.[136] |
| 35 | Otto of Lonsdorf | 1254[137] | 1265 | Otto died on 9 April 1265.[138] |
| 36 | Wladislaw of Silesia[139] | 1265 | 1265 | Previously Provost ofVyšehrad and a papal chaplain, Ladislaus (Wlodislaus) was elected bishop of Passau on 2 May 1265.[140] He was appointed archbishop of Salzburg byPope Clement IV on 10 November 1265, despite problems with his holy orders and age. Ladislaus' replacement in Passau was appointed on 24 November 1265. Archbishop Ladislaus died on 27 April 1270.[141] |
| 37 | Petrus | 1265 | 1280 | Canon ofBreslau |
| 38 | Wichard of Pohlheim | 1280 | 1282 | |
| 39 | Gottfried | 1282 | 1285 | Gottfried of Westphalia was aProtonotary and Chancellor[142] ofRudolph I of Germany,German king |
| 40 | Bernhard of Prambach | 1285 | 1313 | |
| Vacancy due to disputed election | 1313 | 1317 | ||
| Albert II, Duke of Austria | 1313 | 1313 | Canon of Passau | |
| Gebhard Walso | 1313 | 1315 | Canon of Passau | |
| 41 | Henri de la Tour-du-Pin[143] | 1317 | 1319 | Bishop-elect only, never ordained or consecrated.[144] |
| 42 | Albert II of Saxe-Wittenberg | 1320 | 1342 | |
| 43 | Gottfried of Weißeneck | 1342[145] | 1362 | Gottfried was the brother of Ordulf of Wiesseneck (1343–1365).[146] He had been Provost of Passau.[147] |
| 44 | Albert von Winkel[148] | 1363 | 1380 | Albert had been Dean, then Provost, of the cathedral Chapter.[149] |
| 45 | Johann of Scharffenberg[150] | 1381 | 1387 | Joannes had been Provost of the cathedral Chapter of Passau, since 1374 or 1376. He died on 3 February 1387.[151] |
| 46 | Hermann Digni | 1387 | 1388 | Hermann had been Dean of the cathedral Chapter. He was elected bishop, but rejected byPope Urban VI.Hermannus Electus et Decanus and the Chapter nonetheless renewed the covenant between the diocese and the archdukes of Austria on 13 October 1387. On 31 August 1388, as bishop-elect and Dean, he approved the election of the Provost of St. Pölten.[152] |
| 47 | Rupert of Jülich-Berg (de Monte)[153] | 1388 | 1390 | On 13 March 1389, Rupert was transferred to thediocese of Paderborn byPope Urban VI, who died on 15 October 1389.[154] |
| 48 | George von Hohenlohe | 1390 | 1423 | George was namedApostolic Administrator of Strigonia (Esztergom) on 22 December 1418, byPope Martin V.[155] He died on 8 August 1423.[156] |
| 49 | Leonhard of Laiming | 1423/1424 | 1451 | |
| 50 | Ulrich of Nußdorf | 1451 | 1479[157] | |
| 51 | George Hessler[158] | 1480 | 1482 | Hessler, aprotonotary apostolic and imperial counsellor, was named acardinal byPope Paul II on 10 December 1477.[159] |
| 52 | Friedrich Mauerkircher | 1482 | 1485 | Friedrich was canonically elected by the Chapter of Passau in September 1479, but was not able to take his seat due to the intrusion of Cardinal Hessler. After the cardinal's death,Pope Sixtus IV reappointed him.[160] He was not regularly in Passau, due to his office of Chancellor of the duke of Bavaria.[161] |
| 53 | Frederick of Öttingen | 1485 | 1490 | Elected on 2 December 1485; confirmed byPope Innocent VIII on 15 February 1486. He died on 3 March 1490, not having received the regalia from the emperor, and never having been consecrated a bishop.[162] |
| 54 | Christopher of Schachner | 1490 | 1500 | |
| No. | Name | from | to | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Wiguleus Fröschl of Marzoll | 1500 | 1516 | |
| 57 | Ernest of Bavaria | 1516 | 1541 | Coadjutor of Bishop Fröschl, who died on 6 November 1516. Bishop-elect, but never consecrated. Administrator only.[163] |
| 57 | Wolfgang von Salm[164] | 1541 | 1555 | Provost of cathedral Chapter.[165] Elected by the Chapter on 11 November 1540, approved byPope Paul III on 18 February 1541. Died 5 December 1555.[166] |
| 58 | Wolfgang von Closen | 1555 | 1561 | Wolfgang had been Provost of the cathedral of Passau. He was elected by the cathedral Chapter on 20 December 1555,[167] and approved byPope Paul IV on 12 June 1556. He died on 7 August 1561.[168] |
| 59 | Urban von Trennbach | 1561 | 1598 | Issued "Statuta Capitulis" on 15 August 1594.[169] |
| 60 | Leopold Ferdinand of Austria | 1598 | 1625 | Named coadjutor-bishop of Bishop Urban in 1598, aged 12.[170] Bishop Urban died on 9 August, but Leopold not allowed administratorship until 1 December 1604. Resigned, to marry, in November or December 1625. He was never consecrated, and was thus bishop-elect.[171] |
| 61 | Leopold Wilhelm of Austria[172] | 1625 | 1662 | Elected coadjutor of Passau on 8 November 1625, with the consent of Bishop Leopold Ferdinand and the approbation ofPope Urban VIII. Never ordained or consecrated, thus bishop-elect.[173] |
| 62 | Charles Joseph of Austria | 1662 | 1664 | |
| 63 | Wenzeslaus von Thun | 1664 | 1673 | |
| 64 | Sebastian von Pötting | 1673 | 1689 | |
| 65 | Johann Philipp von Lamberg | 1689 | 1712 | Named a cardinal byPope Innocent XII on 21 June 1700. He died on 20 October 1712.[174] |
| 67, no. 29. | Raymund Ferdinand, Count of Rabatta | 1713 | 1722 | |
| 68 | Joseph Dominicus von Lamberg[175] | 1723 | 1761 | Named a cardinal byPope Clement XII on 20 December 1737. He died on 30 August 1761.[176] |
| 69 | Joseph Maria von Thun | 1761 | 1763 | Bishop of Gurk (1741–1762)[177] Elected by the Chapter of Passau on 19 November 1761, and approved byPope Clement XIII on 29 March 1762. He died on 15 June 1763.[178] |
| 70 | Leopold Ernst von Firmian | 1763 | 1783 | Named a cardinal byPope Clement XIV on 14 December 1772. He died on 13 March 1783.[179] |
| 71 | Joseph Francis von Auersperg[180] | 1783 | 1795 | Named a cardinal byPope Pius VI on 30 March 1789. He died on 21 August 1795.[181] |
| 72 | Thomas Johann Kaspar von Thun und Hohenstein | 1795 | 1796 | Titular Bishop of Thyateira and suffragan bishop of Passau (1776–1795), Dean and Canon of Passau with prebend. Elected bishop of Passau by the Chapter on 4 November 1795, confirmed byPope Pius VI on 18 December 1795, died on 7 October 1796.[182] |
| 73 | Leopold Leonhard von Thun und Hohenstein[183] | 13 Dec 1796 | 22 Oct 1826 | Canon domicellaris, then Canon capitularis of Passau. Elected by the Chapter on 13 December 1796, confirmed byPope Pius VI on 24 July 1797, consecrated bishop in Passau on 29 August 1797 by Bishop Joseph von Arco of Seckau.[184] Last Prince-Bishop. |
| No. | Name | from | to | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | Karl Joseph, Baron of Riccabona | 25 Dec 1826 | 25 May 1839 | |
| 75 | Heinrich of Hofstätter[185] | 6 Jul 1839 | 12 May 1875 | |
| 76 | Joseph Francis Weckert | 4 Oct 1875 | 13 Mar 1889 | |
| 77 | Antonius von Thoma | 24 Mar 1889 | 23 Oct 1889 | |
| 78 | Michael von Rampf | 8 Dec 1889 | 29 Mar 1901 | |
| 79 | Anton von Henle | 3 Apr 1901 | 18 Oct 1906 | |
| 80 | Sigismund Felix, Baron of Ow-Felldorf | 18 Oct 1906 | 11 May 1936 | |
| 81 | Simon Konrad Landersdorfer,OSB | 11 Sep 1936 | 27 Oct 1968 | |
| 82 | Antonius Hofmann | 27 Oct 1968 | 15 Oct 1984 | |
| 83 | Franz Xaver Eder | 15 Oct 1984 | 8 Jan 2001 | |
| 84 | Wilhelm Schraml | 13 Dec 2001 | 1 Oct 2012 | |
| 85 | Stefan Oster[186] | 24 May 2014 | Incumbent |
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| Province of Bamberg | |
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| Province of Berlin | |
| Province of Cologne | |
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| Province of Hamburg | |
| Province of Munich and Freising | |
| Province of Paderborn | |
| Sui iuris jurisdictions | |
| Ecclesiastical |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Secular | ||
Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512:Austrian,Burgundian,Upper Saxon,Electoral Rhenish · Unencircled territories | ||
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| Academics | |
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