Convention between the Swiss Federal Council and the Holy See concerning the Separation of the Apostolic Administration of Ticino from the Diocese of Basel and its Transformation into a Diocese (24 July 1968)

(1) The High Contracting Parties decide to terminate the statute of the Apostolic Administration of Ticino, established by the Convention between the Swiss Federal Council and the Holy See on the Ecclesiastical Relations of the Canton of Ticino, signed on 1 September 1884. They also agree to terminate the canonical union of the Cathedral Church of Saint Lawrence in Lugano with the Diocese of Basel, foreseen in the Convention between Switzerland and the Holy See to definitively regulate the Ecclesiastical Relations of the Canton of Ticino, concluded on 16 March 1888.

(2) The High Contracting Parties therefore agree to separate the two ecclesiastical circumscriptions of Basel and Ticino. The Ordinary of the latter shall bear the title of Bishop of the Diocese of Lugano.

(3) The Bishop of Lugano shall be appointed by the Holy See and chosen from among the priests who are citizens of Ticino.

(4) The Church of Saint Lawrence in Lugano shall continue to be the Cathedral Church for the territory of the Canton of Ticino.

(1) The Bishop of Lugano shall have full and complete freedom to exercise spiritual and episcopal jurisdiction over the entire territory of the Canton of Ticino.

(2) The relations between the Catholic Church and the Canton of Ticino remain governed by the Convention between the Canton of Ticino and the Holy See for the establishment of an Apostolic Administration in the Republic and Canton of Ticino, concluded on September 23, 1884.

(3) The Canton of Ticino and the Bishop of Lugano may modify, by common agreement, the financial provisions of Article 4 of the aforementioned Convention of September 23, 1884.

With the entry into force of the present Convention, the following acts are repealed

the Convention between the Swiss Federal Council and the Holy See on the ecclesiastical relations of the Canton of Ticino, signed on 1 September 1884;

the Convention between Switzerland and the Holy See for the definitive regulation of the ecclesiastical relations of the Canton of Ticino, concluded on 16 March 1888.

The present Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged in Bern as soon as possible. It shall enter into force on the day of the exchange of the said instruments.

In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention.

Done at Bern, this 24th day of July 1968, in two original copies in the French language.