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Six communities in the Werra-Meißner district: major parish reform begins!
In the Werra-Meißner district, six Catholic communities will merge in 2026 to form a new parish, led by Pastor Graef.
Six communities in the Werra-Meißner district: major parish reform begins!
From January 1, 2026, things will really get down to business in the northern Werra-Meißner district. Six Catholic communities will then merge to form a new parish. This restructuring is part of a comprehensive process within the Diocese of Fulda that began in 2017 and is expected to last until the 2030s.
Affected by this profound change are the parishes of Zum Divine Redeemer Witzenhausen, St. Bonifatius Bad Sooden-Allendorf, Christkönig Hessisch Lichtenau, MariaeName Großalmerode, St. Elisabeth Waldkappel and St. Joseph Hebenshausen. The initiative is led by Pastor Simon Graef, who is working on the merger together with the administrative and parish councils. However, the approval of all committees is required to officially bring the new parish into being, as HNA reports.
A little history and outlook
A similar merger was already completed on January 1, 2023 in the southern district, where the St. Gabriel pastoral association merged to form the St. Elisabeth parish. The long-term goal in the entire diocese is to reduce the number of parishes to 28. The Werra-Meißner district will be the fifth parish in the diocese.
Pastor Graef estimates that the new parish will last around 8 to 10 years before further mergers may need to be undertaken. This structural reorganization is no coincidence; The lack of priests is a current problem, as Graef and István Kovács currently oversee the six parishes.
The challenges
Another topic that should not be neglected is the declining proportion of Christians in Germany. In the Werra-Meißner district, deaths have been higher than baptisms for years. In addition, the geographical distance between communities is a significant challenge - this can be up to 40 kilometers. After the merger there will only be one parish council, but each parish will continue to retain its own church team to maintain local identity.
The future parish will therefore be a colorful mix of these six communities, which must come together despite all the challenges. The first steps have been taken and it will be exciting to see how this process will develop further.
Further information about the named parishes in the Diocese of Fulda can be found on the website of the Diocese of Fulda.