1. Wolfgang Haas was born on 7 August 1948 and is a Liechtenstein-born prelate of the Catholic Church who was the first archbishop of the newly established Archdiocese of Vaduz in Liechtenstein from 1997 to 2023.
22 Facts About Wolfgang Haas
1. 2.
Wolfgang Haas was Bishop of Chur in Switzerland from 1990 to 1997, after two years there as coadjutor.
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Wolfgang Haas lived with his family in Mauren until then moved to Schaan, where his family ran a ceramics business.
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Wolfgang Haas graduated from the Collegium Marianum in Liechtenstein in 1968 and then studied philosophy and theology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
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Wolfgang Haas was ordained a priest and incardinated in Chur, Switzerland, on 7 April 1974.
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Wolfgang Haas was named chancellor of the Diocese of Chur in 1978 and joined its diocesan court in 1982.
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Wolfgang Haas received his episcopal consecration on 22 May 1988 from the bishop of Chur, Johannes Vonderach.
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Wolfgang Haas succeeded as bishop when Pope John Paul accepted Vonderach's resignation on 22 May 1990.
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In 1991, Wolfgang Haas made a series of controversial decisions regarding the local theological college, St Luzi Seminary, allowing only candidates for the priesthood to study there.
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Wolfgang Haas replaced the rector and dismissed all students who were not in formation for the priesthood.
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Late in his tenure in Chur, Wolfgang Haas appointed three vicars general for the diocese over the objections of the 14 deans of the diocese, puzzling the Vatican by sidelining his auxiliary bishops.
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Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, who expressed no opinion on the archdiocese or Wolfgang Haas, attended the installation.
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Wolfgang Haas said that combining the Mass with a state celebration sent "a false or dishonest signal to the public".
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Wolfgang Haas called any recognition of same-sex relationships "a scandal".
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In Vaduz, Wolfgang Haas has demonstrated strong support for the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, frequently ordaining its members.
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Wolfgang Haas installed a gold episcopal throne in the cathedral at his own expense, and later, at a cost to the archdiocese of 130,000 Swiss francs, three vaults for episcopal tombs in the nave, which proved controversial.
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In October 2021, Wolfgang Haas announced that Vaduz would not participate in the worldwide program of synods by holding one of its own.
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Wolfgang Haas called the process complex and said it might prove ideological.
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Wolfgang Haas said communication in the archdiocese was easy and available, and that his listening as a bishop did not require long debates.
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In June 2022, Wolfgang Haas refused to participate in the annual confirmation Mass and dinner with local officials in Schaan, because the town was hosting Liechtenstein's first gay pride march the day before.
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Wolfgang Haas said same-sex marriage "runs counter to natural sensibility, to natural law in accordance with reason and, in particular, to the Christian concept of the human being".
22.
Wolfgang Haas has announced he will not speak to the media and plans to retire to the monastery of Schellenberg in Liechtenstein.