Now it's official: Berlin Archbishop Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki will be the new Archbishop in Cologne. This was announced simultaneously in Rome and Cologne Cathedral on Friday.
He is a high-flyer among Germany's Catholic pastors. As auxiliary bishop of Cologne, Rainer Maria Woelki was hardly known outside the Rhineland just three years ago. Then came his appointment as archbishop of Berlin and shortly thereafter his elevation to cardinal. So now he returns to the Rhine to succeed Cardinal Joachim Meisner as Archbishop of Cologne. The cathedral chapter elected him from a list of three by the pope.
As the capital city's bishop, Woelki has proven surprisingly media-savvy. He has a consistently good reputation among journalists on the Spree, but also in political Berlin. Woelki meets the media's desire for a clear profile while remaining close to the people. Thus he promotes Catholic sexual ethics while emphasizing that he is "not a religious guardian who wants to control bedrooms". His admission that he does not have a ready answer to every question also earns him sympathy.
Against a purely "men's club
As another "plus" the cardinal can show that he takes the advancement of women seriously. In this way he meets an increasingly louder demand, also in the Catholic Church. In his diocesan administration, a number of leadership positions are in female hands. "The church must not be a men-only club," Woelki stresses, even though he does not believe the church is entitled to admit women to ordained offices.
He also has an important role in the German episcopate as a "charity bishop". His fellow bishops elected him chairman of their commission for charitable ies a few weeks after he took office in Berlin. The refugee fate of his East Prussian parents makes him particularly sensitive to the fate of the socially weak and uprooted.
No fear of contact
Woelki has no fear of contact in this commitment. He proved it even before he met with poverty-stricken migrants from the Balkans. Instead of Berlin-Mitte, he moved into an apartment in the workers' and migrants' district of Wedding. In this way, he is in line with the priestly ideal promoted by Pope Francis. With his criticism of the "growing gap between rich and poor," the archbishop has also deliberately caused a stir in political circles. Much attention was also paid to the fact that he found a good working level with the Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit (SPD).
Woelki does not shy away from sometimes unpopular positions in his archdiocese. There he has initiated a far-reaching reform that is also meeting with resistance. The parishes should network with Catholic social and educational institutions and stand up for the faith together with them. The concept includes merging parishes under the umbrella of large parishes. Critics see this as endangering established parish structures and demand more say in the matter. Similar problems await him in the archdiocese of Cologne, where he gained his first experience in the leadership of a diocese as secretary to Meisner and as auxiliary bishop for the northern district with the state capital Dusseldorf.
Renovation of Berlin's St. Hedwig's Cathedral
Woelki has tackled another "construction site" in recent months with the renovation of Berlin's St. Hedwig's Cathedral. Now an international architectural competition has been completed, which will lead to a profound redesign of the interior of the Episcopal Church. His successor in Berlin will soon have to face this ambitious task as well.
After his "apprenticeship years" in Berlin, Woelki is now returning to the Rhineland with a sharpened profile. In Cologne, he had and has always retained supporters among the faithful, who asked him on every visit home when he would finally be coming back. For them, the wait was worth it.
"We are witnesses" is his motto
The churchman, who came from a simple background, sees himself first and foremost as a priest and pastor. He actually wanted to become a "normal pastor" and work with young people, as he once said on his 25. Priest's jubilee in 2010 revealed. As a child of East Prussian expellees Woelki worked his way up.
Woelki was born on 18. August 1956 in Cologne as the eldest of three children. After graduating from high school, he did his military service in the tank artillery. He studied theology and philosophy in Bonn and Freiburg and was ordained priest in 1985. After several years as a chaplain and military chaplain, Meisner then appointed him his secretary in 1990. For seven years Woelki belonged in this function to the innermost circle of the Cologne General Vicariate, after which he was entrusted with the direction of the archdiocesan seminary in Bonn.
In 2003, Pope John Paul II. appointed bishop, responsible for the pastoral care of the northern pastoral district, which includes Dusseldorf and Wuppertal and has a population of about 850,000. Then came the call to Berlin.
Woelki didn't have much time to settle in the capital. Shortly after he took office, Pope Benedict XVI. to Germany and celebrated a large Mass in the Olympic Stadium. He had to take over the organization of the visit and assisted at the service.
Woelki quickly sensed the emotional state of the colorful metropolis. He cleared up reservations about his appointment, such as his studies at Opus Dei University in Rome. The theologian had earned his doctorate on the role of parishes at Santa Croce, run by the controversial order of laymen and priests. He spoke openly about this, but rejected membership in the community.
He had always wanted to be a "normal pastor". "Nos sumus testes" – We are witnesses, is Woelki's motto.