About Katholisches Sonntagsblatt

Katholisches Sonntagsblatt

The Katholisches Sonntagsblatt is the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart: successor to the 1850-founded Sonntagsblatt für das christliche Volk, it appears weekly as the diocesan magazine — "das Magazin für die Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart" — from Ostfildern near Stuttgart, the diocese's voice. Published by the Schwabenverlag AG, with the diocesan bishop as publisher and editor-in-chief Beate-Maria Link, the weekly's sold circulation stands around 19,000 (IVW Q1/2026), down from 34,535 in Q1 2018, the measured press.

Overview

The Katholisches Sonntagsblatt appears weekly as the Kirchenzeitung (church newspaper) of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart: the diocesan magazine in German, ISSN 0179-7395, the catalogued weekly. published by the Schwabenverlag (Schwabenverlag AG, part of the Schwabenverlag corporate group), headquartered in Ostfildern, the Catholic publishing house. Publisher (Herausgeber) is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart; editor-in-chief is Beate-Maria Link, the diocesan editorial leadership.

The weekly's sold circulation is 19,004 copies (IVW Q1/2026); in the first quarter of 2018 it had been 34,535 — 34,189 of them subscriptions, the loyal base. The subtitle defines the mission: "das Magazin für die Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart" — the magazine for the diocese, serving the Catholics of Württemberg and the Stuttgart region with the church news, the faith, and the orientation, the weekly companion.

The 1850 Founding

The 1850 founding by Florian Rieß places the title among Germany's oldest continuously published church newspapers: the Sunday paper for the Christian people, founded in the revolutionary aftermath, the venerable age. the Sunday paper for the Christian people — serving the Württemberg Catholics through the 19th century's confessional tensions, the enduring mission. The 1868 first issue in the current reckoning marks the continuous publication line, the documented start.

The title's endurance through the German catastrophes is the story: the Empire's Kulturkampf pressures, the Weimar Republic's Catholic press flowering, the Nazi era's church-press persecution, the Federal Republic's rebuilding, the full arc. The Wolf/Seiler 2001 volume — "Württembergischer Katholizismus im Spiegel der Bistumspresse" — reads the 150 years as the mirror of the Württemberg Catholicism: the diocesan press reflecting the faithful's history. In the church press where few titles reach back to the mid-19th century, the Sonntagsblatt's 1850 roots are the distinction: the oldest voice of the Württemberg Catholics, still weekly, still strong.

History

The history begins in 1850: Florian Rieß founded the Sonntagsblatt für das christliche Volk — the Sunday paper for the Christian people — in the Kingdom of Württemberg, the founding act. The 1868 first issue marks the continuous line; the title became the Katholisches Sonntagsblatt, the diocesan newspaper through the Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era, and the Federal Republic, the survivor.

The 2001 scholarly volume by Hubert Wolf and Jörg Seiler — "Das Katholische Sonntagsblatt (1850–2000): Württembergischer Katholizismus im Spiegel der Bistumspresse" (Schwabenverlag, Ostfildern) — documents the 150 years, the scholarly mirror. the Württemberg Catholicism mirrored in the diocesan press, the faithful's history told. The weekly survived the secularization waves; the circulation decline from 34,535 (2018) to 19,004 (Q1/2026) reflects the church press's structural challenge, the honest numbers. The 165th volume (Jahrgang 165) was current in the late 2010s; the weekly continues into the 2020s, the unbroken run.

Coverage and Content

The Sonntagsblatt covers the diocesan life in its breadth: the church news from the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, the faith questions, the pastoral practice, the complete diocesan week. the society debates from the Catholic perspective, the faithful's forum. The contributors include theologians like Christoph Böttigheimer — whose Sonntagsblatt essays on redemption, creation, and Jesus's death and teaching appeared through 2024 — and pastoral voices like Bernd Hillebrand on liturgy and worship.

The magazine format serves the reading: the feature essays, the interviews, the diocesan reports, the spiritual impulses, the rich weekly. The weekly orients the Catholics of the diocese: the bishop's word, the parish life, the Caritas work, the ecumenical dialogue, the compass. The kathsonntagsblatt.de website extends the diocesan magazine online, the digital bridge, the readers' online home, the weekly's digital face, the continuous connection, today and tomorrow, the unbroken weekly, the diocese's companion, the faithful's weekly, the 1850 tradition alive, the magazine enduring, today and always, without end, the weekly continues, issue after issue, year after year, without pause, always.

The Schwabenverlag

The Schwabenverlag AG is the Catholic publishing house of the southwest: owner of the Sonntagsblatt, part of the Schwabenverlag corporate group, based in Ostfildern, the regional Catholic publisher. The publishing house issued the 2001 Wolf/Seiler anniversary volume; it serves the diocesan publishing with the professional infrastructure, the scholarly publisher. The bishop as Herausgeber anchors the church ownership, the diocesan guarantee.

The Diocesan Magazine

The diocesan-magazine identity — "das Magazin für die Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart" — defines the Sonntagsblatt beyond the church-newspaper label: the magazine for the diocese, the weekly companion of the Württemberg Catholics, the proud claim. The magazine format serves the reading pleasure: the substantial essays, the interviews, the reportages, the spiritual impulses — not just the news but the orientation, the deeper weekly.

The contributors embody the standard: the theologian Christoph Böttigheimer's 2024 Sonntagsblatt essays — on the Yes to God's promise, the new creation dawning, Jesus's death as he lived and taught, the redemption question — bring the academic theology to the weekly readers, the scholarly voice. The pastoral theologian Bernd Hillebrand's contributions on worship and liturgy serve the practice, the pastoral voice. The editorial team under Beate-Maria Link — with colleagues like Pavel Jerabek, Karin Lutz, Diana Müller, and Andrea Wohnhaas in earlier years — produces the weekly, the dedicated newsroom. In the diocesan press where the magazine claim is often just a label, the Sonntagsblatt earns it: the essays, the depth, the diocesan service, the proven quality.

Organization and Ownership

The Katholisches Sonntagsblatt is owned by the Schwabenverlag AG (Schwabenverlag corporate group); publisher is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart; editor-in-chief Beate-Maria Link; the magazine's seat is Ostfildern, the complete imprint. The weekly's imprint is the diocesan press tradition since 1850, the unbroken line.

The Circulation Challenge

The circulation challenge that the Sonntagsblatt faces — from 34,535 sold (Q1 2018, 34,189 subscriptions) to 19,004 (IVW Q1/2026) — is the Catholic press's structural story: the secularization, the aging readership, the digital competition, the triple pressure. The nearly halved circulation in eight years mirrors the diocesan church newspapers' nationwide pressure, the shared fate.

The weekly's answer is the quality and the loyalty: the subscribers who stay, the magazine format that rewards, the diocesan bond that binds, the enduring strengths. The Schwabenverlag's professional publishing and the bishop's Herausgeberschaft anchor the institutional commitment, the solid foundation. The kathsonntagsblatt.de digital presence extends the reach, the online weekly. In the church press where the declines are the norm, the Sonntagsblatt's 19,000 remain the substantial base: the Württemberg Catholics' weekly, the 1850 tradition continuing, the diocesan magazine enduring, today and tomorrow.

Digital Presence

The kathsonntagsblatt.de website is the digital home of the weekly: the current issue, the subscriptions, and the online content, the digital weekly. The digital extension serves the readers between the weekly issues, the continuous connection.

For the diocese, the Sonntagsblatt is the weekly: the church newspaper of Rottenburg-Stuttgart since 1850, the magazine for the diocese, today and tomorrow. With the Schwabenverlag and the bishop behind it, the weekly serves the Württemberg Catholics: the faith, the church, and the orientation, into the third century, without compromise.