A new hope: Dominicus Meier takes office in Osnabrück

A new hope: Dominicus Meier takes office in Osnabrück

The new Bishop of Osnabrück, Dominicus Meier, is officially introduced to his office today. At 3:00 p.m. there is a service in the Osnabrück cathedral, to which around 600 guests from different areas, including politics and society, are invited. Among the guests are prominent personalities such as the former Federal President Christian Wulff and Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil from the SPD. This ceremony marks a significant moment for the Catholic Church in Germany, especially during challenging times for the diocese of Osnabrück.

Dominicus Meier, who now lives as a bishop in the city at the age of 65, is solemnly used by Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, the Apostolic Nuncio in Germany, and the Archbishop of Hamburg Stefan Heße. He decided to be addressed as Bishop Dominicus in the future to avoid confusion with the Bishop of Augsburg, Bertram Meier. Before his appointment, Meier was auxiliary bishop in Paderborn and, after graduating from high school in 1982, entered the Benedictine order, where he accepted the order name Dominicus. This gives him a well -founded theological basis to devote himself to the challenges of his new office.

a bishop in a difficult environment

The diocese of Osnabrück, which extends from Emsland to the North Sea, is faced with a dramatic change, like many other dioceses in Germany. The number of exit from the church is on a record high and there is a lack of priests. Dominicus Meier poses a great challenge that he accepts openly. In the run-up to his office, he said in an interview with the German Press Agency that it was important to him to get to know the local people. He does not want to bring prefabricated concepts, but wants to interact directly with the parishioners.

"I celebrate the service with you, I also like to drink coffee and eat a sausage at noon", he describes his obvious approach to meet the members of his diocese. These informal meetings should become a closer exchange between him and the community. In addition, the official visitations should only start after Easter 2025, which gives him the opportunity to look around in the region and to turn to the challenges and needs of its community members.

Dominicus Meier succeeds the former bishop Franz-Josef Bode, who resigned last year. Bode was the first German bishop to resign in the context of the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and justified this step with personal mistakes in dealing with sexual abuse cases. This prehistory brings additional responsibility and pressure on Meier, who has to lead the church community in a time of upheaval.

The coming months should be decisive how Dominicus Meier fills the bishop's chair and what measures he takes to meet the challenges in front of which the diocese of Osnabrück is facing. The public will be pursuing tension like this new bishop who is looking for closeness to the people who can steer the fate of the community. The hope lies on a fresh wind that blows through the organization, while the Catholic Church continues to fight to regain the trust of the believers.