Wolfgang von
Dalberg was born in 1538, the son of Friedrich Kämmerer von Worms alias von Dalberg (1500–1574), and his wife Anna von Fleckenstein (d. 1564). When the
cathedral chapter of
Mainz Cathedral met on 19–20 April 1582 to elect a new
Archbishop of Mainz, Dalberg narrowly beat out
Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn,
Bishop of Würzburg to become the new archbishop.
Pope Gregory XIII confirmed his election on 3 September 1582. He was
ordained as a
priest in 1583. In 1583, Dalberg signed a treaty with
William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, settling a long-standing border dispute between the Archbishopric of Mainz and
Hesse-Kassel. In that treaty, the archbishopric gave up its claims in
Hesse, and Hesse-Kassel gave up its claim on
Eichsfeld. Dalberg oversaw introduction of the
Gregorian calendar in 1583. Dalberg was ordained as a
bishop by
Georg von Schönenberg,
Bishop of Worms on 20 May 1584. Although a firm
Roman Catholic, Dalberg strove for reconciliation with the
Protestants. In the spirit of the
Counter-Reformation, he performed a
canonical visitation in his archdiocese. Dalberg died in
Aschaffenburg on 5 April 1601 and is buried in Mainz Cathedral. ==References==