Roman Catholic bishopric of Odense

The diocese was founded by 988. Its first church was erected in Odense and dedicated to Saint Mary. The missionary Odinkar Hvide is said to have preached on Funen at this time, though there is little record to confirm that he was officially the diocese's bishop. The first recorded Bishop of Odense, Reginbert (Reginar), was an Englishman consecrated by Archbishop Alnoth of Canterbury ca. 1020 and sent by King Canute the Great to Denmark. He was succeeded by Gilbert, a clerk of Bremen. After Gilbert's death in 1072 the diocese was vacant and subject to the Bishop of Roskilde, until the appointment of an English Benedictine monk, Hubald, ca. 1082.[1]

King Canute IV presented the diocese's cathedral, which was then under construction, with the relics of Saint Alban and Saint Oswald around 1075. On 10 July 1086, Canute was killed during an insurrection in Odense. He was soon venerated as a saint within the diocese and his remains were exhumed in April 1095 as relics. He was officially canonized by Pope Paschal II ca. 1100. On 19 April 1101, his remains were translated by Bishop Hubald to the diocese's cathedral.[2][1]

Odense was once one of the wealthiest dioceses in Denmark and had strong ties to the aristocracy. During his time as bishop, Jens Andersen Beldenak came into conflict with the aristocracy, perhaps because he was the only bishop in Denmark at the time who had not been born into the nobility. As a result of these conflicts with the ruling class, he was temporarily imprisoned and eventually forced to resign in 1529. His successor, Knud Henrikssen Gyldenstjerne, was formerly the Dean of Viborg. Gyldenstjerne's election as bishop was controversially never confirmed by the pope.[1]

Prior to the Reformation, the diocese oversaw a number of monasteries, convents, and abbeys within its domain, including Holme Abbey. These establishments followed a variety of monastic traditions. Their orders included: Augustinian Canons, Benedictines, Cistercians, Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, Poor Clares, and Bridgettines. The diocese also oversaw hospitals in Odense, Assens, Faaborg and Nakskov, and a Commandery of the Knights of St. John in Odense.[1]

In 1536, at the time of the Reformation in Denmark, Bishop Knud Henrikssen Gyldenstjerne was briefly imprisoned and the diocese was dissolved. He was released in 1537 on the condition that he conform to the newly established lutheran church.[1] With the establishment of the protestant Church of Denmark, the diocese was eventually replaced by the Diocese of Funen.

The former Catholic dioceses in Denmark, including the bishopric of Odense, were never reestablished. Instead, the new Catholic missionary clergy in Denmark were made part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Missions, which was established on 7 July 1868. In 1869, this vicariate was demoted as Apostolic Prefecture of Denmark. On 15 March 1892 it was promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Denmark. Finally on April 29, 1953 it was promoted as exempt Diocese of Copenhagen, which includes the Danish territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.[3]

• Diocese of Funen
• Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen

• Jexlev, Thelma (1977). Lokalarkiver til 1559. Gejstlige Arkiver II: Odense stift, jyske stifter og Slesvig stift. Copenhagen: Danish National Archives – via Danish National Archives. ISBN 87 7497 0348.