Prince Franz-Josef of Bavaria (born 21 September 1957) is a member of the Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

n Royal House of Wittelsbach

Wittelsbach

The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...

 and a member of the Roman Catholic Order of Saint Benedict

Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

.

Early life

Franz-Josef was born at Schloß Leutstetten near Starnberg

Starnberg

The city of Starnberg is in Bavaria, Germany, some 30 km south-west of Munich. It lies at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg...

, Bavaria. He is the eldest son of Prince Rasso of Bavaria

Prince Rasso of Bavaria

Prince Rasso of Bavaria was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach.-Early life:Rasso was born at Schloß Leutstetten near Starnberg, Bavaria...

 and his wife Archduchess Theresa of Austria

Archduchess Theresa of Austria (b. 1931)

Archduchess Theresa Monika Valerie Elisabeth Ludovika Walburga Anna of Austria, full German name: Theresa Monika Valerie Elisabeth Ludovika Walburga Anna, Erzherzogin von Österreich is a member of the Tuscan branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and an Archduchess of Austria and...

.

Later life

The prince is a Benedictine monk, a member of the Roman Catholic Order of Saint Benedict

Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

. Until 1996, he lived under the name Pater Florian at the St. Ottilien Archabbey

St. Ottilien Archabbey

St. Ottilien Archabbey is a Benedictine monastery in Emming near Eresing and the Ammersee in the district of Landsberg, Oberbayern, Germany. It is the mother house of the St...

 in Emming in southern Bavaria. Since 1996, Prince Franz-Josef has been living at the Peramiho Abbey

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Songea in Tanzania.-History:* November 12, 1913: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Lindi from the Apostolic Vicariate of Dar-es-Salaam...

 in Tanzania.

Ancestry