Catholic Church in Germany

The Latest

Pope Francis prays during Mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.

Pope Francis prays for victims as death toll in German Christmas market attack reaches 5

Dec 21, 2024

By AC Wimmer

Pope Francis expressed shock and offered prayers after a deadly attack at a Christmas market in Germany killed five people,... Read more

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg in Germany.

German bishops respond to deadly Magdeburg market attack, call for prayer and peace

Dec 21, 2024

By AC Wimmer

German bishops expressed horror after a car attack at Magdeburg Christmas market left five dead and more than 200 injured. Read more

Police and ambulances stand next to a Christmas market where a car crashed into a crowd injuring between 60 and 80 people, according to a spokesman for the local rescue service, on Dec. 20, 2024, in Magdeburg, eastern Germany.

UPDATE: Casualties at German Christmas market after car rams crowd

Dec 20, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

A car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market Friday evening in the central German city of Magdeburg, killing... Read more

Cardinal Reinhard Marx speaks at a press conference in Munich, Germany, Jan. 27, 2022.

German bishops urge stability amid political turmoil following government collapse

Nov 8, 2024

By AC Wimmer

Cardinal Reinhard Marx and other Catholic voices are calling for calm, emphasizing stability and social cohesion as the German coalition... Read more

A woman kneels at a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles for the victims on Aug. 24, 2024, close to the scene where at least three people were killed and several injured when a man attacked them with a knife on Aug. 23, 2024, in Solingen, western Germany, during a festival to mark the city’s 650th anniversary.

Attack in Germany: Catholic, Jewish leaders weigh in on deadly terror before key elections

Aug 27, 2024

By AC Wimmer

Religious and political figures are embroiled in a debate about Europe’s hot-button issues: terrorism, mass migration, knife crime, and Islamist... Read more

Pope Francis greets altar servers from France.

50,000 altar servers headed to Rome for meeting this month

The German Bishops’ Conference stated in a July 2 press release the theme for the 13th pilgrimage is “With You,”... Read more

The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg in Hesse, Germany.

400,000 Germans quit Catholic Church as talks between Vatican, Synodal Way continue

Jul 1, 2024

By AC Wimmer

The meeting on Friday resulted in Rome demanding the Germans change the name of the body and agree it cannot... Read more

The Reichstag in Berlin, seat of the German federal Parliament.

German bishops praise constitution on 75th anniversary of post-Nazi era

May 24, 2024

By AC Wimmer

German bishops have lauded their country’s constitution as a beacon of freedom as the nation commemorates the 75th anniversary of... Read more

Bishop Georg Bätzing addresses journalists on Sept. 28, 2023.

Germany now a ‘mission country,’ Bishop Bätzing says amid declining Catholic numbers

May 14, 2024

By AC Wimmer

The president of the German Bishops’ Conference has called Germany — a nation whose history is entangled with the Catholic... Read more

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German bishops resist push to install permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Apr 26, 2024

By AC Wimmer

The four bishops, including Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, instead appealed for unity with the universal Church.  Read more

A smoker in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo from 2018.)

Catholic Church highlights concerns regarding Germany’s cannabis legalization

Apr 2, 2024

By AC Wimmer

Germany legalized the recreational use of cannabis on Monday, April 1, but the debate over the contentious legislation is far... Read more

View of the Vatican from the Tiber

Synodal standoff: German bishops and Vatican commit to resolution roadmap

Mar 23, 2024

By AC Wimmer

The Vatican and the German bishops have announced they will work together to resolve the controversial German Synodal Way.  Read more

The small group of Germans peacefully praying for an end to abortion were accosted March 1, 2024, by some 20 assailants wearing hoodies who shouted in their faces, harassing them, mocking them, insulting them, provoking them, and intimidating them with aggressive behavior.

Pro-abortion activists aggressively harass peaceful pro-life prayer vigil in Germany

Mar 6, 2024

By Walter Sánchez Silva

A lawyer and executive director of 40 Days for Life International denounced a March 1 attack by abortion activists on... Read more

The cross of the German “Synodal Way”

German bishops halt move toward establishing a Synodal Council at Vatican’s request

Feb 17, 2024

By Jonathan Liedl

The bishops were poised to vote on the matter at their upcoming plenary assembly Feb. 19–22. Read more

Bishop Hans van den Hende walks in Keukenhof park in Lisse, Netherlands, on April 12, 2022.

Dutch bishops offer cautious response to Vatican blessing guidance, bucking regional trend   

Jan 19, 2024

By Jonathan Liedl

The bishops emphasized that any blessings should help people “live in accordance with [God’s] intentions for the creation of man... Read more

Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Vatican draws line on women’s ordination and homosexuality in new letter to German bishops

Nov 24, 2023

By AC Wimmer

The letter also warned of potential disciplinary consequences for anyone defying Church teaching. Read more

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023.

Full Text: Pope Francis’ letter expressing concern about German Synodal Way

Nov 21, 2023

By Pope Francis

Here is CNA’s English translation of Pope Francis’ letter to four German Catholic laywomen expressing his “concerns” about the direction... Read more

Pope Francis' general audience of April 19, 2023.

Pope Francis expresses ‘concerns’ about German Synodal Way, says it threatens Church unity

Nov 21, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

Pope Francis has expressed deep reservations about the direction of the Catholic Church in Germany. Read more

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne. Credit: www.ewtn.de.

German cardinal disappointed over staff’s attempts to access pornography 

Aug 21, 2023

By AC Wimmer

“I stand firmly with Pope Francis, who unequivocally condemns [pornography] and warns of its insidious dangers,” Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki... Read more

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former prefect of the Papal Household, speaks at Maria Vesperbild in Bavaria, Germany, on the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, Aug. 15, 2023.

Marian embrace: Gänswein speaks of loneliness and solace in first public appearance

Aug 16, 2023

By AC Wimmer

On Tuesday, the former prefect of the Papal Household found himself seeking solace in a Bavarian hamlet. Read more