Joseph Franz Auersperg

Josef Franz Anton Graf von Auersperg (31 January 1734, Vienna – 21 August 1795, Passau) was an Austrian bishop, prince bishop of Passau and cardinal. He was a member of the House of Auersperg. Life Joseph Franz Anton von Auersperg was born in Vienna, the son of Heinrich Joseph 4th Prince von Auersperg, Duke of Münsterberg and Frankenstein in Silesia, and Maria Franziska von Trautson und Falkenstein. His father was an imperial councillor and chief equerry. He studied philosophy in Vienna and theology in Rome. Already in his youth he received a canonry in Passau (1752) and Salzburg (1753) as well as the provostship of Ardagger. Bishop At the instigation of Salzburg Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach, he became Bishop of Lavant in 1763 at the age of only 28 and was consecrated bishop in Salzburg on 20 May 1763. In 1773 he also received the provostship of St. Mauritzen in Friesach. He had the bishop's residence in St. Andrä in the Lavant Valley, which had been badly damaged by an earthquake, restored partly from his own fortune. Imbued with the ideas of The Enlightenment, in 1770 he even prohibited the Passion Play and the wearing of crosses without taking into account the feelings of the people. Auersperg was a Knight of Malta. Prince-bishop He was confirmed Bishop of Gurk on 31 January 1773, enthroned in Gurk Cathedral on 1 May, and ruled in the spirit of the enlightened state church until 1783. A dedicated follower of Josephinism, the Gurk diocese received an accession of territory by the Emperor in 1775.