Heiner Wilmer installed as Bishop of Münster, urges Catholics not to look away from abuse and exclusion

Heiner Wilmer, previously bishop of Hildesheim and since February 2026 chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, was installed as the 76th successor of Saint Liudger, the first bishop of Münster. The ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral drew roughly 1,000 invited guests from politics, church and society, while a similar number watched a live broadcast on a large screen on the cathedral square outside, where the weekly market normally stands.

Ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral

The three-part rite began with the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, the Dutch Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, presenting the papal letter of appointment from Pope Leo XIV. Cathedral provost Hans-Bernd Köppen first verified the document's legality, then addressed Wilmer with the traditional words:

We joyfully note that you are the lawful bishop of Münster.

Next, lay representatives of the diocese who had prepared the bishop's election carried the bishop's staff through the central aisle. They passed it to the bishop emeritus, Felix Genn, who retired in 2025 due to age. Genn handed the staff to his successor with the charge:

Receive the staff of Saint Liudger. Take care of the Church of Münster, take care of the whole flock of Christ. May the Holy Spirit, who has appointed you bishop, help you to lead God's people.

Wilmer, visibly moved, then walked to his bishop's chair alongside Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, completing the installation.

Call against abuse and exclusion

In his first sermon as bishop of Münster, Wilmer asked the congregation: "What do we stand for? What do we confess?" He assured them the diocese knew the answers, "not abstract, but lived." He invoked the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848), author of "Die Judenbuche," as a model: she went where it hurts, described guilt, violence and exclusion, and "stood on the side of those who have no voice."

She stands, quietly but unmistakably, on the side of those who have no voice.

Wilmer's central appeal was not to look away when confronted with abuse of power and violence, to bear the truth and to stand alongside the wounded. He had already addressed the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in March, saying: "Many of those in positions of responsibility looked away for far too long. All of that must never happen again, and I …"

Largest diocese in Germany

The diocese of Münster counts 1.6 million Catholics, making it the German diocese with the most members. Its territory covers the Münsterland, the northern edge of the Ruhr region, parts of the Lower Rhine and, in Lower Saxony, the Oldenburg region. Among the political dignitaries present were Hendrik Wüst, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, state parliament president André Kuper, and Julia Willie Hamburg, deputy Minister-President of Lower Saxony.

Background of the new bishop

Heiner Wilmer was born in Schapen in the Emsland region and grew up on a farm. After his Abitur he entered the Order of the Sacred Heart Priests. He led the diocese of Hildesheim from 2018 until his transfer to Münster. In February 2026 his fellow bishops elected him chairman of the German Bishops' Conference. Pope Leo XIV appointed him bishop of Münster on 26 March 2026.