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 WtTRZBURG

718

WURZBURG

lie Church council, a board subordinate to the minis- try of worship and consisting of secular and eccle- siastical members, which is appointed by the Govern- ment. General ordinances issued by the bishop that are not purely ecclesiastical in character, and papal Bulls, Briefs, etc., which touch upon governmental or civil affairs, are subject to the approval of the State. Episcopal or papal decrees in regard to purely eccle- siastical matters need only to be submitted to theState authorities for inspection at the time of their promul- gation. For admission to an ecclesiastical office the candidate must have the civil rights of a citizen of Wilrtemberg, must have attended a gymnasium, have studied at the University of Tubingen, and have passed the final examination of the Catholic theologi- cal faculty there. For the training of the clergy there are seminaries for boys connected with the gymnasium at Ehingen and Rottweil, and the Wilhelm School at Tiibingen for the students of theol- ogy at the University of Tiibingen. These three schools are supported by the State. In these institu- tions the bishop directs the reUgious training under the superi-ision of the State; in other respects they are under the direct control of the Government, which is exercised through the Cathohc Church council. In particular, the council controls the reception and dis- missal of the pupils. The director and his assistants, called repetenis, are appointed by the bishop. After passing the final theological examination at the uni- versity, which comes at the close of a four-years course in theology, the candidates for the priesthood are sent to the seminary for priests at Rottenburg, which is controlled by the bishop alone. The bishop also has charge of the Catholic rehgious instruction in all schools.

The consent of the State, which can be recalled at any moment, is necessary for the admission of religious orders and congregations and for every new house of an order or congregation. The State treats the vows of the members of the orders as revocable. Up to the present time only female orders have been permitted in Wtirtemberg. The largest number of houses (about 130) belong to the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the mother-house being at Unter- marchtal; the Congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis has over 100 houses, the mother-house being at Rente. Up to now the Government has not granted the repeated requests of the bishop and of the Catholic portion of the population for the admission of male orders. The State granted the diocese an endow- ment from the former property of the Church, e. g. in houses, lands, and revenues in money; this property is administered by the episcopal court under the super- vision of the Government. The sustentation fund established in 1808 received definite sums from the revenues of vacant ecclesiastical positions; these amounts serve to supplement the salaries of parish priests, to pension retired priests, etc. The fund is administered by the Government and Church together. The administration of the property of the local churches is also regulated bv the State (laws of 14 June, 1887, and of 27 July, 1906). A definite allow- ance is added from the state treasury to the incomes of the priests from their benefices; in 1911 the total amount of state aid was fixed at 225,000 marks annu- ally. Measures are being taken for the reorganiza- tion of the financial relations between Church and State. In 1910 the number of churches, chapels, and stations was 1031, of these 698 were parishes; there were 1179 priests, and 29 deaneries. The primary schools are denominational. When the number of Catholics in a commune falls below 60 the Catholics must support a Catliolic school out of their own means. The spiritual supervision of the schools was greatly limited in 1903 and 1909. Of the higher schools 4 cla.ssical gymnasia and 1 gymnasium with scientific instead of Classical courses are entirely

Catholic. AU Cathohc schools are under a special government board, the Catholic higher school council. There are a number of Catholic educational institu- tions for poor, orphaned, and sick Cathohc children; these institutions are generally conducted by members of the female orders, as is also a government insti- tution, the royal orphanage at Oxenhausen. Religious fraternities and societies are numerous.

Schneider, Wiirttembergiscke Geschichte (Stuttgart, 1896) : Weller, Geschichte WiiTtfembeTQs (Leipzig, 1909); Wiirttem- bergische Kirchengeschichte, ed. Kalver Missio.nsverein (1893), Protestant; Schmid, Reformation^g^schichte WurUemberga (Heil- bronn. 194), Protestant; Pfaff-Spholl, Kirchliche und staat- liche VeTordnungen fuT die Gei,-^lltchki'it rles Bistums Rottenburg (2nfi ed.. 2 vols., 1908-09); Goz. Dn.< StnatsrfchI des Konigreicht WuTttemberg (Tubingen, 1908); 1 immh, Smat^rechtliche Gesetze Wurtlembergs (Tubingen, 1907 1; >\<.mi i i i k, Dte kirchliche Auf~

klarung am Hofe Karl Eugens il • ,„l:rrg (1906); Erz-

BERGER, Die Sdkularisation in U'i;r;'. f/;'. r;; (1902); Keppleb, WUrttembergs kirchliche KuTistattertumer (Rottenburg, 1888).

Herman Sacher.

Wiirzburg, Diocese of (Herbipolensis), in Ba- varia, suffragan of Bamberg. The diocese includes the Bavarian governmental department of Lower Fran- conia, three communes of Upper Franconia, the Grand-Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, and several en- claves in Bavaria belonging to the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar (see Germany, Map). In 1911 it contained a city deanery with 10 parishes, 34 rural deaneries, 447 parishes and curacies, 62 benefices, 69 local chaplaincies and expositorships, 147 chap- lains, 445 parish priests and curates, 35 holders of benefices, 67 local chaplains and e\-positors, 118 chaplains and assistants, 47 ecclesiastics engaged in administration and teaching, altogether 712 active diocesan priests, 55 retired priests, 121 regulars, 560,000 CathoHcs, and about 120,000 non-Cathohcs. The bishop is appointed by the Bavarian Govern- ment. The cathedral chapter consists of a provost, a dean, 8 capitulars, 6 prebends, and 1 cathedral preacher. The institutions for the education and training of the priesthood are: the Catholic theological faculty at the University of Wiirzburg, with 8 profes- sors; the Cathohc seminary for priests at Wiirzburg, with 75 students; the seminary for boys (the Chili- aneum); and the episcopal house of studies. The following orders are represented in the chocese: Augustinians, 4 monasteries, 37 fathers, 52 brothers; the Benedictine Brotherhood of St. Louis, 1 house, 7 fathers, 20 brothers; Franciscans, 6 monasteries,

19 fathers, 47 brothers; Capuchins, 6 monasteries, 31 fathers, 45 brothers; Carmehtes, 1 house, \0 fathers, 10 brothers; Franciscan Conventuals, 2 monasteries, 20 fathers, 24 brothers. Female orders and congregations: English Ladies, 6 convents, 154 sisters; Franciscan Nuns from the mother-house of Maria Stern at Augsbiirg, 41 houses, 209 sisters; Franciscan Nuns from tlie mother-house at Dillingen, 16 houses, 114 sisters; Carmelite Nuns, 1 house,

20 sisters; Sisters of the Most Holy Saviour, 1 mother- house, 184 branch houses, 1160 sistei-s; Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus, 7 houses, 152 sisters; Sisters of Not re-Dame, 23 houses, 182 sisters; Sisters of St. Joseph from the mother-house at Ursberg, 1 house, 87 sisters; Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul from the mother-house at Munich, 1 house, 13 sisters; Ursuline Nuns, 1 house, 43 sisters. Cathohc associational life is in a flourishing condition.

The cathedral at Wiirzburg, a Romanesque basilica with pier-arches, the most important Roman- esque cathedral in Germany, was built between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries. In the seven- teenth century its interior was overloaded with Baroque stucco work and spiral ornamentation; it contains 35 tombs, several by Riemenschneider, of theprince-bishoi)s. At the north end of the transept is the Schonborn chapel, a domed structure in the most elaborate Rococo style. The Neumiinster Church, or Cathedral, of St." Kilian (Baroque style),