The Austrian Bishops' Conference is the association of all catholic dioceses in Austria an represents the Catholic Church in Austria, which is subdivided into the two ecclesiastical provinces of Salzburg and Vienna, the suffragan dioceses, and the Austrian Military Ordinariate.
According to the national census of 2001, the Roman Catholic Church in Austria has 5,915,421 members (excluding the members of the churches united with Rome), which represents 73.6 per cent of Austrians resident population.
The Ecclesiastical Province of Vienna embraces: the Archdiocese of Vienna (founded 1469) with 1,347,579 Catholics (Statistics of the Catholic Church in Austria 2004), comprising 55 deaneries with 660 parishes, the diocese of St. Pölten (founded 1785) with 561,007 Catholics in 25 deaneries and 424 parishes, the Diocese of Linz (founded 1785) with 1,060,893 Catholics in 39 deaneries and 472 parishes, and the Diocese of Eisenstadt (founded 1960) with 213,211 Catholics in 12 deaneries and 171 parishes.
The Ecclesiastical Province of Salzburg embraces: the Archdiocese of Salzburg (founded approx. 700) with 512,670 Catholics in 20 deaneries and 208 parishes, the Diocese of Graz-Seckau (founded 1218) with 906,481 Catholics in 26 deaneries and 389 parishes, the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt (founded 1072) with 417,717 Catholics in 24 deaneries and 335 parishes, the Diocese of Innsbruck (founded 1964) with 406,995 Catholics in 19 deaneries and 244 parishes, and the Diocese of Feldkirch (founded 1968) with 266,285 Catholics in 9 deaneries and 124 parishes
The dioceses correspond to the territories of the nine Austrian federal provinces, with the exception of the Archdiocese of Salzburg (which also comprises part of the federal province of the Tyrol) and the Archdiocese of Vienna (which includes the eastern part of Lower Austria).
The Austrian Military Ordinariate (existent in its present form since 1986) is responsible for the pastoral care of the members of the military and their families. It consists of four deaneries and 22 parishes.
The basic services of the Catholic Church are the celebration of the Holy Mass, the apostolate, and charity. These services are rendered by secular and monastic priests, brothers and sisters of the orders, and laymen, both full-time and in an honorary capacity. The male orders work together in the Superiors' Conference, the female ones in the Association of Women's Orders. Apart from its pastoral activity, the Catholic Church is widely active in education (Catholic school system, extracurricular youth education, adult education), in the public health service (hospitals staffed by nursing sisters), in charity work and in help for the needy.
The head of the Catholic Church, which enjoys international personality under international law, is the Pope. The Roman Curia, which is under the supreme direction of the Pope, is the highest administrative and judicial body of the Catholic Church. In Austria, the Holy See is represented by the Apostolic Nuncio (ambassador status).
(Published by the Austrian Federal Press Service: Religions in Austria, Vienna 2004)
