Christian Würtz takes office as Bishop of Eichstätt

Christian Würtz took up his office as Bishop of Eichstätt in a solemn service. In his sermon, he said there is enough cause for concern for people right now. “But worries shouldn’t have the last word.” Since his appointment, he has learned that there are many people in the diocese of Eichstätt who are striving for peace - "through prayer and through their active actions." He wanted to invite people to continue to make the diocese a place where peace spreads.

Würtz, who was previously an auxiliary bishop in Freiburg, is currently Germany's youngest diocesan bishop at 55 years old. These are “good conditions for many blessed years here in the diocese of Eichstätt,” commented the Bishop of Fulda, Michael Gerber, who came to Eichstätt as deputy chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK).

Gerber went on to say that the Baden homeland unites him and Würtz: “This influence and the connection to our homeland on the Upper Rhine will accompany us throughout our lives.”

Well-known and festive hymns such as “Great God, we praise you”, incense, a newly renovated and fully occupied cathedral, applause from the faithful - the Catholic Church appeared that afternoon in Eichstätt as if it had not been hit by a decline in membership and reform debates.

At the beginning of the service, Archbishop Herwig Gössl of Bamberg emphasized the unifying power of the episcopal office: A bishop does not work in the spirit of this or that “ecclesiastical political agenda” or for a specific group. It is his job to build bridges in the diocese and in the worldwide church.

At the beginning of the service, which was also celebrated by Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (both CSU), the Apostolic Nuncio in Germany, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, handed over the papal certificate of appointment.

Then Würtz received the rationale from his predecessor Gregor Maria Hanke: This is a shoulder decoration that, according to the diocese, today only the archbishops of Krakow and Paderborn and the bishops of Nancy-Toul and Eichstätt are allowed to wear.

Hanke resigned from office in June 2025. Last July, Pope Leo XIV appointed Würtz as the new bishop. He had previously been Auxiliary Bishop of Freiburg since 2019. He holds a doctorate in law and theology. He is now the 83rd Bishop of Eichstätt - the diocese was founded by St. Willibald in the eighth century.

In terms of the number of Catholics, Eichstätt is the smallest Bavarian diocese with 334,517 members (as of 2025). The diocese is centrally located in the Free State and has many rural areas, but also the south of Nuremberg and the industrial city of Ingolstadt.