The Military Ordinariate of Germany (german: Katholische Militärseelsorge; ''Deutsches Militärordinariat'') is a

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the

German Armed Forces The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and their families. Franz-Josef Overbeck, who was appointed Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen The Diocese of Essen is a bishopric of the Catholic Church in Germany, founded on 1 January 1958. The Bishop of Essen is seated in Essen Cathedral (''Essener Dom'' or ''Essener Münster''), once the church of Essen Abbey, and over one thousand ye ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

in 2009, was also appointed Military Ordinary for Germany on 24 February 2011.

History

The first military bishop was appointment on 22 May 1868. A military vicariate was established on 20 July 1933, but it was not until 7 January 1938 that the first military vicar was appointed. It was elevated to a military ordinariate 21 July 1986. The

Episcopal seat A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

is located at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist Patron of Breslavia (''Basilika St. Johannes der Täufer Patron von Breslau'') in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Past and present ordinaries

* Franz Adolf Namszanowski (appointed on 22 May 1868 – resigned on 28 May 1872) * ''Vacant (1872–1888) * Johann Baptist Assmann (appointed on 1 June 1888 – died in office on 27 May 1903) * Heinrich Vollmar (appointed on 9 November 1903 – resigned in 1913) * Heinrich Joeppen (appointed on 27 October 1913 – resigned on 9 November 1918) * ''Vacant (1918–1938)'' * Franz Justus Rarkowski, S.M. (appointed on 7 January 1938 – resigned on 1 February 1945) * ''Vacant (1945–1956)'' * Joseph Wendel (appointed on 4 February 1956 – died in office on 31 December 1960) *

Franz Hengsbach Franz Hengsbach (10 September 1910 – 24 June 1991) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Essen from 1957 to 1991, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988. Biography Franz Hengsbach was born in ...

(appointed on 10 October 1961 – resigned on 22 May 1978) * Elmar Maria Kredel (appointed on 22 May 1978 – resigned on 30 November 1990) * Johannes Dyba (appointed on 30 November 1990 – died in office on 23 July 2000) * Walter Mixa (appointed on 31 August 2000 – resigned on 21 April 2010) * Franz-Josef Overbeck (appointed on 24 February 2011 – present)

References

External links

Katholische Militärseelsorge

(GCatholic.org) {{Authority control