BRESLAU
761
BRESLAU
been mentioned in connexion with the bishops.
There is still to be noted that of San Francesco,
Romanesque in style, with a beautiful facade. Note-
orthy, also, is the cemeterj' of Brescia, dating from (he beginning of the nineteenth centurj^, containing 1 large watch tower.
The diocese contains 79 rural deaneries, 389 par- shes, 774 churches, chapels, and oratories, 997 secular priests, 77 regular clergj-, 398 seminarists, 283 mem- bers of female religious orders, 4 schools for boys, md 8 for girls, and a population of 527,475.
Cappelletti, Le chiesed' Italia (Venice, 1S44), XI; Annuario ^ccl. (1907).
U. Benigni.
Breslau, The Prixce-Bishopric of, is seated at Breslau, on the River Oder in the Prussian Province j{ Silesia.
History. — Christianity was first introduced into ilesia by missionaries from lIora\"ia and Bohemia. \fter the conversion of the Polish Duke Misiko flater Mieczyslaus) the work of bringing the people
- o the new faith went on more rapidlj-. Up to about
he year 1000 Silesia had no bishop of its own, but ivas imited to neighbouring dioceses. In this way irose the first connexion of Silesia with Germany. The upper part of the River Oder formed the bound- iry of the Kingdom of Poland; all the territory which s now Silesia lying on the right-hand bank of the 3der belonged, therefore, to the Diocese of Posen, vhich was suffragan to the Metropolitan See of ilagdeburg. This part of Silesia was thus under the urisdiction of that Jordan who was, in 968, appointed irst Bishop of Posen. The part of Silesia Ij'ing on lie left bank of the Oder belonged to the territory hen included in Bohemia, and was consequently vithin the diocesan jurisdiction of Prag'ue. The See )f Prague, founded probably in 973, was suffragan to he -Airchdiocese of Mainz. The Polish ruler, Boles- aw Chrobry, the son of Misiko, obtained the Bohemian xart of Silesia during his wars of conquest, and a 'hange in the ecclesiastical dependence of the prov- nce followed. By a patent of Otto III, in 995, Silesia was attached to the See of Meissen, which, ke Posen, was suffragan to the Archdiocese of ilagdeburg. Soon after this the Emperor Otto III ind Duke Boleslaw Chrobrj', who was then the ruler f the whole of Silesia, founded the Diocese of 5reslau, and Breslau, together with the Dioceses f Cracow and Colberg. was placed under the Arch- liocese of Gnesen, which was founded by Otto in he year 1000. The first Bishop of Breslau is said o have been named Johannes, but nothing more than his is known of him, nor is there extant any official locument giving the boundaries of the diocese at the ime of its erection. However, they are defined in he Bulls of approval and protection issued by r'ope Adrian IV, 23 April, 1155, and by Pope Inno- cent IV, 9 August, 1245.
The powerful Polish ruler, Boleslaw Chrobrj', was
- ucceeded by his son Misiko II, who had but a short
eign. After his death a revolt against Christianity ind the reigning family broke out, the new Church )rganization of Poland disappeared from view, and he names of the Bishops of Brcslavi for the next laif centurj' are unknown. Casimir, the son of ilisiko, and his mother were driven out of the coun- ry. but through German aid they returned, and the iltairs of the Church were brought into better order. V Bishop of Breslau from probably 1051 to 1062 vas Hieronymus, said by later tradition to have been , Roman nobleman. He was followed by Johannes I 1062-72), who was succeeded by Petrus I (1071- 111). During the episcopate of Petrus, Count Peter Mast entered upon that work of founding churches nd monasteries which has preserved his name. Vtrus was followed by: Zyroslaus I (1112-20); leimo (1120-26), who welcomed St. Otto of Bam-
berg to Breslau in May, 1124, when the saint was on
his missionary journey to Pomerania; Robert I
(1127-42), who was Bishop of Cracow; Robert II
(1142-46); and Johannes II (1146-49), who became
Archbishop of Gnesen. With the episcopate of
Bishop Walter (1149-69) the history of the Diocese
of Breslau begins to grow clearer. At Walter's re-
quest Pope .\drian IV, in 1155, took the bishopric
under his protection and confirmed to it the terri-
torial possessions of which a list had been submitted
to liim. Among the rights which the pope then con-
firmed was that
of jurisdiction
over the lands
belonging to the
castle of Ott-
machau w h i c h
had been regard-
ed as the patri-
mony of the dio-
cese from its
foundation. Dur-
ing Walter's epi.s-
copate the Pol-
ish Duke Ladis-
laus and his fami-
ly were driven
from home and
took refuge in
Germany; in
1163 the sons of
Ladislaus return-
ed and, through
the intervention
of Frederick
Barbarossa, received as an independent duchy the part of Silesia which was included at that date in the vSee of Breslau. Bishop Walter built a new, massively constructed cathedral, in which he was buried. ZjToslaus II (1170-98) encouraged the founding of the Cistercian monastery of Leubus by Duke Boleslaw the Long. In 1180 ZjToslaus took part in the national assembly at Lenczyc at which laws for the protection of the Church and its property were promulgated. Jaroslaus (1198-1201), the old- est son of Duke Boleslaw, and Duke of Oppeln, was the first prince to become Bishop of Breslau. C>-p- rian (1201-7) was originally Abbot of the Pre- monstratensian monasterj' of St. Vincent near Bres- lau, then Bishop of Lebus, and afterwards Bishop of Breslau. During CjTsrian's episcopate Duke Hein- rich I and his wife, St. Hedmg, founded the Cistercian convent at Trebnitz. The episcopate of Bishop Lorenz (1207-32) was marked by his efforts to bring colonies of Germans into the church territories, to effect the cultivation of waste lands. This intro- duction of German settlers by the bishop was in ac- cordance with the example set by Heinrich I and St. Hedwig. The monasteries of the .\ugustinian Canons, Premonstratensians, and Cistercians took an active part in carrying out the schemes of the rulers by placing great numbers of Germans, especiallj' Thuringians and Franconians, on the large estates that had been granted them.
One of the most noted bishops of the diocese was Thomas I (1232-68); he continued the work of German colonization ^vith so much energy that even the marauding incursions of the Mongols (1241) made but a temporary break in the process. His defence of the rights of the Church involved him in bitter conflicts with Duke Boleslaw of Liegnitz. Thomas began the construction of the present cathedral, the chancel being the first part erected. St. Hedwig died during his episcopate; and he lived until the process of her canonization was completed, but died before the final solemnity of her elevation to the altars of the Catholic Church. Aft«r Thomas I,
