Heiner Wilmer, the Bishop of Hildesheim, has been elected the new chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference. The conference announced the decision on Tuesday in Würzburg, with Wilmer succeeding Bishop Georg Bätzing. In his new role, Wilmer will represent the church organisation externally for the next six years.
Wilmer was born in 1961 in Schapen in the Emsland region. In August 1980 he entered the Missionary Society of the Heart of Jesus and, in 1985, made his perpetual profession. He was ordained a priest on 31 May 1987 in Freiburg. From 1987 to 1993 he studied in Rome and Freiburg. After serving as a deacon and teacher in Meppen, Vechta and even in New York’s Bronx, he became the principal of the Leoninum secondary school in Handrup. Between 2007 and 2015 he was provincial of the German province of the Missionary Society of the Heart of Jesus in Bonn. He then served as the General Superior of the Society in Rome until 2018.
Pope Francis appointed Wilmer as the 71st Bishop of Hildesheim on 6 April 2018; he was ordained and installed on 1 September 2018. Since September 2021 he has chaired the Commission for Social and Economic Issues within the German Bishops’ Conference, and from 2019 to 2024 he led the German Commission Justitia et Pax.
As chairman, Wilmer acts on behalf of the bishops’ conference in external relations. He must observe the resolutions of the plenary assembly and the standing committee. If no decision exists on a particular issue, he is required to bring about a resolution; if that is not feasible, at least a consensus with the appropriate commission must be sought. In urgent matters, he may issue statements on his own initiative. He keeps the conference members informed, and the vice‑chairman assumes the chairman’s duties when the chairman is legitimately prevented from acting or has delegated his responsibilities.