List of German cardinals

This article or section needs revision: Inconsistent assignments at least for the section before 1803; incomprehensible "special cases"; The Austrians, who were undoubtedly Germans at least until 1866, are also missing for the 19th century; see also discussion
page Please help to improve it and then remove this flag.

The list of German cardinals contains all cardinals from Germany and indicates special cases. The cardinals of former and current German dioceses as well as German curia cardinals are brought together. The secularization of 1803 serves the structure.

German cardinals before 1803

• Werinhar († 982), Abbot of Fulda (968–982), companion of Otto II in Italy, is said to have become a cardinal priest there shortly before his death in 982
• Friedrich von Lorraine , who later became Pope Stephen IX. († 1058), was cardinal and abbot of Montecassino under Leo IX.
• Bruno († 1092), cardinal priest of S. Sabina from 1058
• Gerhard († 1077), cardinal since 1067
• Kuno von Praeneste († 1122), cardinal since 1108
• Dietwin (also Theodwin) († 1153), abbot in Gorze, papal legate at the Second Crusade, cardinal since 1134
• Konrad von Wittelsbach († 1200), Archbishop of Mainz (Konrad I) and Salzburg (Konrad III), cardinal from 1165?
• Siegfried II of Eppstein († 1230), Archbishop of Mainz and Arch Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, cardinal from 1206
• Konrad von Urach († 1227), Cistercian abbot, cardinal bishop and cardinal legate in France and Germany, cardinal from 1219
• Thomas Olivier (or Thomas Oliver, also Oliver der Sachse, Oliver von Paderborn, Oliver von Köln) († 1227), 1223 to 1225 Bishop of Paderborn, cardinal since 1225
• John III Grünwalder († 1452), 1443/48 to 1452 Prince-Bishop of Freising, cardinal since 1440 (through antipope Felix V)
• Nikolaus von Kues (1401–1464), papal legate, from 1450 Prince-Bishop of Brixen, cardinal from 1448
• Peter von Schaumberg (1388–1469), bishop of Augsburg from 1424 to 1469, cardinal since 1450 at the latest
• Burkhard von Weißpriach († 1466), from 1461 Archbishop of Salzburg, Cardinal 1458/1461?
• Georg Hessler (also Georg Heßler, Georg von Hessler, Georg von Heßler and Georg von Hasler) († 1482)
• Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg (1468–1540), from 1519 Archbishop of Salzburg, cardinal from 1511 in pectore
• Albrecht von Brandenburg (1490–1545), from 1513 Archbishop of Magdeburg and from 1514 Archbishop of Mainz, cardinal since 1518
• Nikolaus von Schönberg (1472–1537), papal envoy, archbishop of Capua, cardinal since 1537
• Otto von Waldburg (1514–1573), Bishop of Augsburg from 1543, cardinal from 1544
• Johannes Gropper (also Johann Gropper) (1503–1559), theologian, cardinal since 1555
• Stanislaus Hosius (1504–1579), legate at the imperial court in Vienna from 1559, cardinal from 1561
• Mark Sittich von Hohenems (also Markus Sittikus or Marco Sittico Altemps) (1533–1595), 1561–1589 Prince-Bishop of Constance, cardinal since 1561
• Philip of Bavaria (1576–1598), from 1579 (!) Prince-Bishop of Regensburg, cardinal from 1596
• Eitel Friedrich von Hohenzollern (1582–1625) , from 1623 Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, cardinal from 1621
• Friedrich von Hessen-Darmstadt (1616–1682) , cardinal since 1650, only ordained bishop in 1673 and bishop of Breslau
• Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg (1593–1661), 1625–1661 Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, cardinal since 1660
• Bernhard Gustav von Baden-Durlach OSB (1631–1677), from 1671 prince abbot in Fulda and from 1673 in Kempten, cardinal from 1671
• Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg (1629–1704), Bishop of Strasbourg from 1682, cardinal from 1686
• Christian August von Sachsen-Zeitz (1666–1725), from 1707 Archbishop of Esztergom (Gran), cardinal from 1706
• Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim (1676–1743), from 1719 Prince-Bishop of Speyer, from 1740 Prince-Bishop of Konstanz, cardinal since 1713
• Franz Konrad von Rodt (1706–1775), 1750–1775 Prince-Bishop of Constance, cardinal since 1756
• Franz Christoph von Hutten zum Stolzenberg (also zu Stolzenfels) (1706–1770), from 1743 Prince-Bishop of Speyer, cardinal from 1761
• Johann Heinrich von Frankenberg (1726–1804), Archbishop of Mechelen from 1759, cardinal from 1778

• 

  Albrecht of Brandenburg

• 

  Otto von Waldburg

• 

  Johannes Gropper

• 

  Friedrich of Hessen-Darmstadt

• 

  Bernhard Gustav of Baden-Durlach

• 

  Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim

• 

  Franz Konrad von Rodt

• 

  Franz Christoph von Hutten to the Stolzenberg

special cases

• Adriaan van Utrecht (1459–1523): The Dutchman and later Pope Hadrian of Utrecht had been a cardinal and close collaborator of Charles V since 1517 , in whose name he ruled the Spanish monarchy as Inquisitor General and Governor . At that time, Utrecht was part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation that belonged to Burgundy .
• Joseph Dominikus von Lamberg (1680–1761): Born in Steyr, he was appointed cardinal in 1738 as Prince-Bishop of Passau .
• Leopold Ernst von Firmian (1708–1783): Born in Trento, he was appointed cardinal in 1772 as Prince-Bishop of Passau .
• Joseph Franz Anton von Auersperg (1734–1795): Born in Vienna, he was appointed cardinal in 1789 as Prince-Bishop of Passau .

• 

  Adrian of Utrecht

• 

  Joseph Dominkus von Lamberg

• 

  Leopold Ernst von Firmian

• 

  Joseph Franz von Auersperg

German cardinals since 1803

Listed below are all 42 cardinals since 1818. Currently (2018) eight German cardinals are still alive (without the former Pope Benedict XVI. ), Of which three are under 80 years of age and are therefore still eligible to vote as a pope .

In addition, Romano Guardini speculates whether Pope Paul VI. offered him the cardinal purple in 1965, but the theologian rejected it for reasons of age and health. There was an early correspondence between Montini and Guardini. This rumor, refuted by the Istituto Paolo VI in Brescia, has persisted since a relevant dpa report on February 8, 1965. This was supported by the fact that at the consistory of February 22, 1965, his theological companions Lorenz Jaeger and Giulio Bevilacqua were accepted into the college of cardinals, and his friend Felix Messerschmid confirmed this process.

Surname	image	Born	Diocese / function since	Appointment as cardinal	coat of arms	Appointed by the Pope	Died
Johann Casimir Häffelin		1737	Bavarian envoy to the Holy See (1803–1827)	1818		Pius VII	1827
Johannes Baptist Jacob Cardinal von Geissel		1796	Archbishop of Cologne (1845)	1850		Pius IX	1864
Melchior Ferdinand Joseph Cardinal von Diepenbrock		1798	Prince-Bishop of Breslau (1845)	1850		Pius IX	1853
Karl August Cardinal von Reisach		1800	Prefect of the Study Congregation (1862), until 1856 Archbishop of Munich and Freising	1855		Pius IX	1869
Gustav Adolf Cardinal Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst		1823	Archpriest of the Patriarchal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (1878)	1866		Pius IX	1896
Josef Cardinal Hergenröther		1824	Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives	1879		Leo XIII.	1890
Paulus Ludolf Cardinal Melchers		1813	Curial Cardinal, em. Archbishop of Cologne (1885)	1885		Leo XIII.	1895
Andreas Cardinal Steinhuber SJ		1825	Prefect of the Congregation for Indulgences and Relics (1895), Index Congregation (1896)	1893 (in pectore, 1894 public)		Leo XIII.	1907
Georg Cardinal von Kopp		1837	Archbishop of Breslau (1887)	1893		Leo XIII.	1914
Philipp Cardinal Krementz		1819	Archbishop of Cologne (1885)	1893		Leo XIII.	1899
Antonius Hubert Cardinal Fischer		1840	Archbishop of Cologne (1902)	1903		Pius X.	1912
Felix Cardinal von Hartmann		1851	Archbishop of Cologne (1912)	1914		Pius X.	1919
Francis Cardinal von Bettinger		1850	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1909)	1914		Pius X.	1917
Adolf Cardinal Bertram		1859	Bishop of Hildesheim (1906–1914), (Arch) Bishop of Breslau (1914–1945, Archbishop from 1930 after Wroclaw was raised to an archbishopric)	1916 (in pectore, 1919 public)		Benedict XV	1945
Karl Joseph Cardinal Schulte		1871	Archbishop of Cologne (1920)	1921		Benedict XV	1941
Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber		1869	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1917)	1921		Benedict XV	1952
Francis Cardinal Ehrle SJ		1845	Prefect of the Vatican Library (1895), Librarian of the Vatican Library and Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives (1929)	1922		Pius XI.	1934
Blessed Clemens August Cardinal von Galen		1878	Bishop of Münster (1933)	1946		Pius XII.	1946
Joseph Cardinal Frings		1887	Archbishop of Cologne (1942)	1946		Pius XII.	1978
Konrad Cardinal von Preysing		1880	Bishop of Berlin (1932)	1946		Pius XII.	1950
Joseph Cardinal Wendel	[1]	1901	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1952)	1953		Pius XII.	1960
Julius Cardinal Döpfner		1913	Bishop of Berlin (1957) Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1961),	1958		John XXIII	1976
Augustin Cardinal Bea SJ		1881	Secretary of the new Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (1960)	1959		John XXIII	1968
Lorenz Cardinal Jaeger	[2]	1892	Archbishop of Paderborn (1941)	1965	[3]	Paul VI	1975
Alfred Cardinal Bengsch		1921	Bishop of Berlin (1961, titular archbishop since 1962)	1967		Paul VI	1979
Joseph Cardinal Höffner		1906	Archbishop of Cologne (1969)	1969		Paul VI	1987
Hermann Cardinal Volk		1903	Bishop of Mainz (1962)	1973		Paul VI	1988
Joseph Cardinal Schröffer	[4]	1903	Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education (1967)	1976		Paul VI	1983
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (from 2005: Pope Benedict XVI.)		1927	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977–1982), Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982–2005), Pope (2005–2013)	1977		Paul VI
Joachim Cardinal Meisner		1933	Bishop of Berlin (1980), Archbishop of Cologne (1988)	1983		John Paul II	2017
Paul Augustin Cardinal Mayer OSB	[5]	1911	Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments (1985)	1985		John Paul II	2010
Friedrich Cardinal Weather		1928	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1982-2008)	1985		John Paul II
Franz Cardinal Hengsbach		1910	Bishop of Essen (1957)	1988		John Paul II	1991
Georg Cardinal Sterzinsky		1936	(Arch) Bishop of Berlin (1989–2011)	1991		John Paul II	2011
Alois Cardinal Grillmeier SJ	[6]	1910	Council theologian	1994		John Paul II	1998
Johannes Joachim Cardinal Degenhardt		1926	Archbishop of Paderborn (1974-2002)	2001	[7]	John Paul II	2002
Karl Cardinal Lehmann		1936	Bishop of Mainz (1983)	2001		John Paul II	2018
Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk FSO	[8th]	1920	theologian	2001		John Paul II	2005
Walter Cardinal Kasper		1933	Secretary (1999), later President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (2001-2010)	2001		John Paul II
Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes		1934	President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" (1995-2010)	2007		Benedict XVI.
Walter Cardinal Brandmüller	[9]	1929	Theologian and church historian	2010		Benedict XVI.
Reinhard Cardinal Marx		1953	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (2008)	2010		Benedict XVI.
Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki		1956	Archbishop of Cologne (2014)	2012		Benedict XVI.
Karl Josef Cardinal Becker SJ	[10]	1928	Theologian and dogmatist	2012		Benedict XVI.	2015
Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller		1947	Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (2012-2017)	2014		Francis
Karl-Josef Cardinal Rauber		1934	emeritus diplomat of the Holy See	2015		Francis

German cardinals in foreign dioceses

Surname	image	Born	Diocese / function since	Appointment as cardinal	coat of arms	Appointed by the Pope	Died
Josef Clemens Maurer CSsR		1900	Archbishop of Sucre , Bolivia	1967		Paul VI	1990

See also

• List of the German Popes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ekkart Sauser:  GERHARD (Gerald). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , Sp. 449.
2. ↑ cf. Paul VI and Germany (2006), p. 148 fn. 51