A new wind in Osnabrück: Dominicus Meier becomes bishop

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Today marks an important moment for the Catholic Church in Lower Saxony, because Dominicus Meier is solemnly introduced to his office as the new bishop of Osnabrück. The service takes place at 3 p.m. in the impressive Osnabrück Cathedral, and the city expects around 600 guests who come from various areas of society. Prominent personalities, such as the former Federal President Christian Wulff and the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil (SPD), have announced themselves to attend this special occasion.

Dominicus Meier, who would like to imagine Bishop Dominicus in the future, will be introduced to his new office by the Apostolic Nuncio in Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, and the Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Heße. The 65-year-old brings with him a remarkable life story. Born as Michael Meier and grew up in Grevenbrück in the Sauerland, he entered the Benedictine order in 1982 and took on the order name Dominicus. He held his last position as an auxiliary bishop in Paderborn before taking over the diocese of Osnabrück. With his change, he follows the Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, which has resigned last year.

a bishop without prefabricated concepts

Before taking office, Dominicus commented in an interview with the German Press Agency and emphasized that he was by no means to come to the diocese with sophisticated plans. Instead, he wants to get to know his new environment actively - not in formal events, but through personal meetings with people. He plans to travel to the outskirts of his diocese, including Bremen and the East Frisian Islands.

"I celebrate the service with them, I also like to drink coffee and eat a sausage at noon," Meier explained and underlined his endeavor to establish a close connection to the community. The traditional formal visiting dates, also known as visitations, are only planned for Easter 2025, which indicates that Dominicus wants to invest time in the personal relationship with the parishioners.

The diocese of Osnabrück is currently facing considerable challenges, as other dioceses in Germany. The number of exit from the church has reached a record level and there is a noticeable lack of priests. Meier's predecessor, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, was the first bishop in Germany to put his office in the context of the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. He had justified his resignation with personal mistakes in dealing with these serious topics during his 27-year term.

The coming months will show how Dominicus Meier will deal with these challenges and to what extent he succeeds in strengthening the local community and supporting people in their faith.