History
A faculty of Catholic Theology existed from the very beginnings of the medieval University of Mainz and began teaching students in October 1477 after its establishment by the Archbishop of Mainz and Elector Diether von Isenburg. Together with the episcopal see and the wider university, the faculty was destroyed in the wars of the French Revolution, which had rocked the Rhine region since 1792.
In 1804, Mainz, which had in the meantime been annexed by France, was reestablished as an episcopal see in Napoleon's Empire. Since an episcopal throne could not exist without a seminary and the seminary could not exist without a theological teaching function, a theological course of study was created by Bishop Joseph Ludwig Colmar in the seminary, which was also established in 1804.
After the Second World War, when Mainz was again under French occupation, the faculty was reinstated in tandem with the reestablishment of the whole university by the French administration. The course of study at the episcopal seminary, which has continued to formally exist with full university rights until today, was discontinued. The renaming of the faculty to today's "Faculty 01 Catholic Theology" occurred in 1972 as part of the university reforms implemented in Rhineland-Palatinate.
In April 2005, Faculty 01 "Catholic Theology" and Faculty 02 "Protestant Theology" were formally merged into a new Faculty 01 "Catholic Theology and Protestant Theology" consisting of two separate faculties: the Faculty of Catholic Theology, and the Faculty of Protestant Theology
The Faculty of Catholic Theology is located in the historic central building on the campus of the new university, a former air defense barracks built in 1939.
Today
The Faculty of Catholic Theology has twelve professorships. The philosophical teaching component is realized by the Department of Philosophy.
As Head of the Student Advising and Examinsation Office, the first point of contact in all issues relating to course and examination organization is:
He also acts as Liaison Lecturer for foreign students.
All other ways of contacting the department can be found under the respective institutions.