28 New religious teachers for the future: Missio Canonica in Fürstenzell

28 New religious teachers for the future: Missio Canonica in Fürstenzell

In front of a moving backdrop in the parish church of the Assumption of Mary in Fürstenzell, a total of 28 women and men were able to receive their “Missio Canonica” on July 13, 2025. During a festive service, Bishop Stefan Oster presented the certificates that give the new religious teachers the right to give Catholic religious instruction indefinitely. Those honored include Deacon Benjamin Bößenroth and community assistants Veronika Gerstl, Stefanie Giglberger and Theresia Reinelt. In the spirit of faith and community, numerous representatives of the community and the diocese of Passau, such as Pastors Wolfgang de Jong and Nicola Holzapfel, attended the service, which was vividly accompanied by the musical performance of the choir and instrumentalists from the Maristengymnasium Fürstenzell.

There was also a big compliment for the organizational achievements: orchestral direction and musical design were taken over by Lina vom Berg and Bernd-Michael Tack, while Dr. Roland Feucht accompanied the organ. In his sermon, Bishop Oster emphasized the importance of mission and education by including essential texts from the book of Tobit and the Gospel. He encouraged the graduates to help young people anchor themselves in the truth. School district director i. In her speech, K. Anja Wagner-Hölzl emphasized the relevance of religious education today.

New requirements for religious teachers

A closely related topic is the new model regulations for granting the Missio Canonica, which was decided on January 23, 2023 by the German Bishops' Conference (DBK). This replaces the framework guidelines of September 1973 and brings a breath of fresh air to the granting of the Catholic teaching permit, which is necessary for religious teachers. This reform aims to modernize the lifestyle requirements of religious teachers and to no longer make distinctions based on personal life situations, sexual orientation or gender identity. This underlines an approach that takes greater account of diversity within the Catholic Church.

The new set of rules makes it clear that religious teachers must provide a Christian certificate, but without making private life a criterion. The following principles will apply in the future: full integration into the Church through baptism, confirmation and Eucharist as well as the willingness and credibility to give religious instruction in accordance with the teachings of the Church. This means that active and critical discussions on church topics are permitted and that the teachers' personal convictions can flow into the lessons, so that a lively church with diverse voices is created.

Dear teachers

In total, the Missio Canonica was awarded to the following people:

• Kirchliches Seminar: Tobias Bärlehner, Julia Gsödl, Carola Weiner
• Seminar Rudolf Lentner: Teresa Eder, Annika Pfeffer, Anna-Lisa Springer, Susanne Starnecker-Raischl, Celina Vogl
• Seminar Cordula Blüml: Victoria Anetsberger, Tanja Bornstein, Fabian Fenzl, Florian Mühlstraßer, Magdalena Schwanner, Jakob Wagner, Sabine Wanitschek
• Seminar Dagmar Cuffari: Natalie Bauer, David Brämer, Dominik Falter, Carolin Fleischmann, Andrea Kronschnabl, Marina Sembiring, Lucia Simeth
• Seminar Dr. Manuel Stinglhammer: Moritz Forscht, Theresa Haselgruber, Andreas Huber, Kerstin Peschl, Manuela Trestl

In this context, the beginners and their departure for the mission were particularly thanked, as Florian Mühlstraßer and Fabian Fenzl emphasized. The mutual recognition of the missio between the dioceses is seen as a clear step towards unity within the Catholic Church. pnp.de provides information about the personal feedback from graduates who are passionate about their service.

The completely revised regulation, which, among other things, responds to the changing social conditions, shows that the Catholic Church is in a dynamic process that affects not only the teachers, but also the entire school community. The official publication of the new model regulations is also up katholisch.de to read.