Christoph Schönborn was born on 22 January 1945 at Skalken (Skalsko), in what is now the Czech Republic, into an Austrian noble family. He joined the Dominicans and was ordained on 27 December 1970 after studies at Le Saulchoir, Vienna, the Sorbonne and the Catholic Institute of Paris, taking his doctorate in theology in 1974. He taught dogmatic and Eastern Christian theology at the University of Fribourg.
From 1987 to 1992 he was secretary of the commission responsible for drafting the Catechism of the Catholic Church — the editor-in-chief of the Church's most important doctrinal text of the century. John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Vienna in 1991, coadjutor in 1995, and Archbishop of Vienna on 14 September 1995; he also served as Ordinary for the Byzantine-rite faithful in Austria. From 1998 to 2020 he was president of the Austrian Bishops' Conference.
John Paul II created him a cardinal on 21 February 1998, with the title of Gesù Divin Lavoratore. He voted in the conclaves of 2005 and 2013. He retired as Archbishop of Vienna in January 2025.
Major Works & Initiatives
Archbishop of Vienna
Three decades as head of Austria's principal see.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Secretary of the drafting commission — the Catechism's editor-in-chief.
President of the Austrian Bishops' Conference
Twenty-two years leading Austria's bishops.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.