:Catholic Church in Switzerland

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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox Christian denomination

|icon=Emblem of the Papacy SE.svg

|icon_width=25px

|name=Catholic Church in Switzerland

|native_name={{langx|de|Katholische Kirche in der Schweiz}}
{{langx|fr|Église catholique en Suisse}}
{{langx|it|Chiesa cattolica in Svizzera}}
{{langx|rm|Baselgia catolica romana in Svizra}}

|type=National polity

|main_classification=Catholic|scripture=Bible

|theology=Catholic theology

|governance=SBC

|leader_title=Pope

|leader_name={{Incumbent Pope}}

|area=Switzerland

|headquarters=Fribourg, Switzerland

|language= German, French, Italian, Romansh, Latin

|separations=Swiss Reformed Church (16th Century)
Old Catholics (19th Century)

|members=2,700,000 (2023)

|website=[https://www.bischoefe.ch/ Swiss Bishop's Conference]}}

{{Catholic Church by country}}

File:AI (3).jpg

File:Karte Religionen der Schweiz 2008.png

The Catholic Church in Switzerland ({{langx|de|Römisch-katholische Landeskirche}}, {{langx|fr|Église catholique en Suisse}}, {{langx|it|Chiesa cattolica in Svizzera}}, {{langx|rm|Baselgia catolica da la Svizra}}) is organised into six dioceses and two territorial abbeys, comprising approximately 2.7 million Catholics, about 30.7%[https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/religionen.html Religions], Statistics Switzerland, accessed 3 February 2025. of the Swiss population in 2023.

Diocesan organisation

The six dioceses are:[https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/dch2.html Catholic Hierarchy website, retrieved 2023-08-28]

The two territorial abbeys, which do not belong to any bishopric, are

In contrast to most Catholic dioceses, Swiss bishoprics are exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the jurisdiction of the Holy See, without any Metropolitan see. The bishops and the two territorial abbots are organised within the Swiss Bishops Conference.

Currently, there are two living Cardinals from Switzerland, Kurt Koch and Emil Paul Tscherrig. The most recent cardinals are Gilberto Agustoni, who died in 2017 and Henri Schwery, who died in 2021. Kurt Cardinal Koch participated in the 2013 Papal conclave.

History

The status of Catholicism in Switzerland is complicated due to the existence of Landeskirchen (Catholic cantonal churches), imposed by anti-clerical cantonal governments in the 19th century and organised along democratic lines, who control the application of funds collected through church taxes. Pope Gregory XVI's encyclical letter of 1835, Commissum divinitus, addressed this issue after the publication of the Swiss cantonal {{ill|Articles of Baden of 1834|de|Badener Artikel}} in the canton of Aargau. The letter challenged the Swiss attempt to "allow secular power [to] dominate the Church, control its doctrine, or interfere so that it cannot promulgate laws concerning the holy ministry, divine worship, and the spiritual welfare of the faithful".Pope Gregory XVI, [https://www.papalencyclicals.net/greg16/g16commi.htm Commissum divinitus on Church and State], paragraph 5, published on 17 May 1835, accessed on 23 February 2025

Most cantonally delineated Catholic church bodies are members of the umbrella Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ, official names in {{langx|de|link=no|Römisch-Katholische Zentralkonferenz der Schweiz}}, {{langx|fr|link=no|Conférence centrale catholique romaine de Suisse}}, {{langx|it|link=no|Conferenza centrale cattolica romana della Svizzera}}, {{langx|rm|link=no|Conferenza centrala catolica romana da la Svizra}}).

In the last thirty years, mainly during the conflict over the appointment of Wolfgang Haas as Bishop of Chur, there have been discussions regarding a major reform of the structure of the Catholic Church in Switzerland, which would probably also lead to the establishment of a metropolitan see (probably in Lucerne). However, discussions remain unresolved especially about the status of the Canton of Zürich as part of the Diocese of Chur, the large but splinted extent of the Diocese of Basel and the lack of a Metropolitan see stay unresolved.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Catholic lay organizations in Switzerland

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Catholicism in Switzerland}}

{{Catholic Church in Europe}}

{{Christianity in Switzerland}}

{{Religion in Switzerland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church in Switzerland}}