Diocese of Münster
Monasterien(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Münster, Germany
The Diocese of Münster is a Latin Church diocese in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, founded around 800 and suffragan to the Archdiocese of Cologne. Heiner Wilmer was appointed its bishop on 26 March 2026.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 800
- Latin
- Monasterien(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Ludger
- Annuario code
- 001002316
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,953,081
- Population
- 4,333,919
- Catholic share
- 45.1%
- Priests
- 1,129
- Catholics per priest
- 1,730
- Extent
- 15,268 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 128
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Heiner Wilmer
- Born
- 9 April 1961
- Birthplace
- Schapen
- Institute
- SACERDOTI DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ (DEHONIANI)
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
St. Paul's Cathedral stands in Münster, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Cologne
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Cologne.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of KölnKöln
- Diocese of AachenAachen
- Diocese of EssenEssen
- Diocese of LimburgLimburg
- Diocese of TrierTrier
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Münster (Latin: Dioecesis Monasteriensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany, standing as a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Cologne.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].