The Military Ordinariate of Austria is a military ordinariate

Military ordinariate

A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.

Immediately subject to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, it provides pastoral care

Pastoral care

Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...

 to Roman Catholics serving in the Austrian Armed Forces and their families.

History

The Theresian Military Academy

Theresian Military Academy

The Theresian Military Academy is an academy, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. The Academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria.- History :...

 had been founded at the castle of Wiener Neustadt

Burg Wiener Neustadt

-History:The first castle in Wiener Neustadt was built in 1193/94, when at the same time, the city walls of Wiener Neustadt were built. The costs were paid from the ransom of Richard the Lionheart...

 in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 by Empress Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

 in 1751. Twenty-two years, the empress created the office of military bishop in 1773, and that it was to be held by the bishop of Wiener Neustadt. However, the Diocese of Wiener Neustadt was abolished in 1785 and merged with the Archdiocese of Vienna. The last bishop of Wiener Neustadt, Johann Heinrich von Kerens, became the first bishop of Sankt Pölten

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten

The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**...

. After the First World War, there was a gap over fifty years without any military bishops being appointed.

On 21 February 1959, a military vicariate was established, with Cardinal Franz König

Franz König

Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...

, Archbishop of Vienna appointed as the first military vicar. By the apostolic constitution

Apostolic constitution

An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...

 decree "Spirituali militum curae", it was raised to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986.

The current military ordinary is the Most Reverend Christian Werner, who was succeeded the post on 22 February 1994, and also appointed Titular Bishop

Titular bishop

A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...

 of Wiener Neustadt on 11 October 1997. The military ordinary has the same status as a diocesan bishop

Diocesan bishop

A diocesan bishop — in general — is a bishop in charge of a diocese. These are to be distinguished from suffragan bishops, assistant bishops, coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, metropolitans, and primates....

 and is a member of the Austrian Episcopal Conference

Episcopal Conference

In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...

. The military ordinary's seat

Cathedra

A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...

 is located at the Cathedral of St. George (Kathedrale St. Georg) in Wiener Neustadt.

List of office holders

From	Until	Name	Notes
Military bishopric
1773		Ferdinand Michael Cyriakus von Hallweil	Appointed Military Bishop in 1773; also was Bishop of Wiener Neustadt 1741–1773; died in office on 6 June 1773
1773	1792	Johann Heinrich von Kerens, S.J. Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...	Previously Bishop of Roermond 1770–1773; appointed Military Bishop on 6 November 1773; also was Bishop of Wiener Neustadt 1773–1785 and Bishop of Sankt Pölten Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**...  1785–1792; died in office on 26 November 1792
1792	1803	See vacant
1803	1815	Godfried Joseph Crüts van Creits	Appointed Military Bishop on 28 July 1803; also was Bishop of Sankt Pölten Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**...  1806–1815; died in office on 5 April 1815
1815	1826	Joseph Chrysostomus Pauer	Appointed Military Bishop on 24 April 1815; also was Titular Bishop of Dulma 1815–1823; translated to the Diocese of Sankt Pölten Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**...  on 10 November 1823
1823	1833	See vacant
1833	1835	Michael Johann Wagner	Appointed and Military Bishop on 27 April 1833; also was Titular Bishop of Belgrado e Semendria o Smederevo 1833–1835; translated to the Diocese of Sankt Pölten Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**...  on 16 November 1835
1835	1863	Johann Michael Leonhard	Previously Bishop of Sankt Pölten Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**... ; appointed Military Bishop on 19 November 1835; also appointed Titular Bishop of Diocletianopolis in Palaestina on 1 February 1836; died in office on 19 January 1863
1863	1875	Dominik Mayer	Appointed Military Bishop on 1 October 1863; also was Titular Bishop of Cisamus 1863–1875; died in office on 4 May 1875
1875	1878	See vacant
1878	1890	Anton Josef Gruscha Anton Josef Gruscha Anton Josef Gruscha, S.T.D. was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was Archbishop of Vienna....	Appointed and Military Bishop on 19 January 1878; also was Titular Bishop of Carrhae 1878–1890; ordained bishop on 28 April 1878; translated to the Archdiocese of Vienna on 24 January 1890
1890	1911	Koloman Belepotoczky	Appointed Military Bishop on 22 July 1890; also was Titular Bishop of Tricale 1890–1914; ordained bishop on 5 October 1890; resigned as Military Bishop on 1 June 1911; died on 15 December 1914
1911	1913	See vacant
1913	1918	Emmerich Bjelik	Appointed Military Bishop on 8 January 1913; also was Titular Bishop of Thasus 1913–1927; ordained bishop on 22 February 1913; resigned as Military Bishop on 11 November 1918; died on 9 May 1927
1918	1959	See vacant
Military vicariate
1959	1969	Cardinal Franz König Franz König Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...	Appointed Military Vicar on 21 February 1959; also was Archbishop of Vienna 1956–1985; resigned as Military Vicar on 7 May 1969
1969	1985	Franz Žak	Appointed Military Bishop on 8 May 1969; also was Bishop of Sankt Pölten Roman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten The Diocese of Sankt Pölten is a diocese located in the city of Sankt Pölten in the Ecclesiastical province of Wien in Austria.-History:* January 28, 1785: Established as Diocese of Sankt Pölten from the Diocese of Passau, Germany and Diocese of Wiener Neustadt-Special churches:*Minor Basilicas:**...  1961–1991; resigned as Military Vicar on 27 September 1985
Military ordinariate
1986	1990	See vacant
1990	1994	Alfred Kostelecky	Previously Auxiliary Bishop Auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...  of Vienna and Titular Bishop of Aggar 1986–1990; appointed Military Ordinary on 10 February 1990; also was Titular Bishop of Wiener Neustadt 1990–1994; died in office on 22 February 1994
1994	Present	Christian Werner	Appointed Coadjuator Bishop of the Military Ordinariate and Titular Bishop of Aeca on 9 January 1992; consecrated bishop on 2 February 1992; succeeded Military Ordinary on 22 February 1994; also appointed Titular Bishop of Wiener Neustadt on 11 October 1997