Christoph von Stadion

Christoph von Stadion (1478–1543) was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1517 to 1543.

Biography

Christoph von Stadion was born in Schelklingen in March 1478, the son of Nikolaus von Stadion (d. 1507) and his wife Agatha von Gültlingen (d. 1504). In 1490, he began his studies at the University of Tübingen, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1491 and a master's in 1494. He then studied at the University of Freiburg, moving on to the University of Bologna in 1497. Finally, he studied at the University of Ferrara, from which he received a doctorate in law.

He became a canon in the cathedral chapter of Augsburg Cathedral in September 1506. In 1515, he was elected dean of the cathedral chapter. He was ordained as a priest in 1515.

In March 1517, shortly before the death of Heinrich von Lichtenau, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg, the cathedral chapter elected him coadjutor bishop, a selection confirmed by Pope Leo X on April 20, 1517, shortly after the death of Heinrich von Lichtenau. Christoph von Stadion was consecrated as a bishop by Gabriel von Eyb, Bishop of Eichstätt, on July 5, 1517.

He held a canonical visitation in the bishopric of Augsburg in 1518 and 1523. In the wake of the papal bull Exsurge Domine (1520), he moved to suppress the Reformation in the bishopric, particularly after 1522. In general, however, he sought to chart a middle course with the Reformers, supporting moderation at the 1530 Diet of Augsburg.

He died on April 15, 1543, and was buried in the parish church in Dillingen an der Donau.