Franz von Waldeck

Count Franz von Waldeck (1491 – 15 July 1553) was Prince-Bishop of Münster, Osnabrück, and Minden in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire.

Franz was the son of Count Philip II of Waldeck-Eisenberg (1453–1524), who while being originally destined for the ministry, took a greater interest in his family's more worldly duties and thus became governor of the County of Ravensberg.

Franz von Waldeck was early on destined to fulfill his father's original ambition for a place in the aristocratic cathedral chapter.

Because chapter members were required to obtain a secular law degree, Franz began studying in Erfurt in 1506 and moved to Leipzig in 1510.

In Minden, where the Lutheran doctrine had been widely accepted even before he took office, Franz attempted in 1535 to reach out to the balance of the city beyond just the cathedral chapter.